Memories
by theorbess540
Summary: Ever since Luffy can remember, he's always dreamed about becoming a pirate. But he lives in a world with gangs, and where the surface is a giant desert. Not that it's going to stop Luffy. 'Cause he has an entire other past life in his head that says other wise. Well, not all of the memories are there. Some are missing. So now he's gotta find some weird green-haired guy to get them.
1. Monkey D Luffy

Fame. Wealth. Power.

The Gang King Gold Roger had all this and more. His dying words sent thousands to the streets. "You want my treasure? You can have it. I left it all in one place. Now you just have to find it"

People swarmed to the Grand Land, a mysterious stretch of land circling across the world. Despite mountains protecting the land from the outside world, and the general unpleasantness of the lands, humans have managed to make large towns in the Grand Land. They successfully settled there, in these amazing lands that often defy the very nature of law itself. But the settlers have to constantly deal with rogue gangs who are on their search for the One Piece, ravaging and plunder as they go.

But this story doesn't start there. It starts outside of the mountain range in the the East Land, with a young boy.

 _ **Monkey D. Luffy**_

Luffy shoved his pinkie finger up his nose, his red baseball cap with a giant yellow "L" on the front rested at an angle on his head. He slouch back on the brown couch and kicked his sandaled feet up onto the table, staring disinterestedly at the man in front of him as his finger moved around in a distinct 'I'm picking my nose' motion.

The man looked down at his office desk and sighed, a hand coming up to rub his hair. Looks like his Tuesday afternoon appointment actually arrived this time. He forced a smile onto his face. "Welcome back Luffy. Still having those dreams?"

"Yep." Luffy flicked a booger against the wall. The man winced. He'll have to get his secretary to clean that again. Because he sure as heck wasn't about to go anywhere near that green mess. The man scooted his chair back to lean down and rifle through some drawers. He grabbed a file an inch thick full of papers and plopped it on the desk. He opened it, and the paper-ladened side made a distinct thumping sound as it hit the desk. The man winced once more.

"So what was it about this time?" he asked, grabbing a pen and another piece of paper. At least he was going to get an interesting story out of this. Another one to add to the already enormous file. Ten year old Luffy sat up, excitement rushing into his voice.

"This time I dreamed that I got caught in a whirlpool! I kept spinning and spinning and spinning! It was so cool! I go soooo dizzy!"

The man scribbled it down. "Did you escape?"

"Of course!" Luffy jumped onto the couch, slightly bouncing on the cushions as he made energetic arm motions to go with the story. "I climbed into a barrel and lived! Then I met this weak kid named Coby and we beat up this ugly lady pirate and got in a boat and sailed away."

The man scratched his head, exasperated. "Luffy, you've had this same dream before how many times now?"

"Five." Luffy proudly held out four fingers. Then his face contorted and his hand dropped. "But it's not done." he grumbled, and slouched back down against the couch.

"What?" the man pushed up his glasses with the tip of his forefinger.

"The dream. It's not done. There is more after, but I can't remember. Something is blocking it." Luffy sighed. The man perked up, and scribbled more down. There was a block. Finally, something he could work with!

"Still not giving up on becoming a pirate?" he asked a couple moments later.

Luffy shook his head and scowled "Course not! It's my dream!"

The man mentally rolled his eyes. Where in the world did this little boy's admiration come from? Pirates were nowhere near here. They were a small group and only affected the people living by bodies of water. And there wasn't one of those in miles. The only bad things out there now were gangs. Usually small boys like Luffy wanted to join a gang, not a pirate crew.

Speaking of gangs. He placed down his pen and leaned forward, laying his elbows on his desk and clasping his hands together as he talked. "Luffy, I know you don't want to be here. I know you were against it from the beginning. I also know your grandpa forced you to come, and that is why you keep skipping out on our weekly meetings. But, for your safety, I'm going to have to cancel all your appointments for a while."

"Why?" Luffy asked, finger in nose once more.

The man sighed. The boy obviously didn't understand what he was saying, but continued onwards with his explanation. "There has been a gang spotting. Two, maybe three days off. They raided a nearby town, and the residents were nice enough to send us a warning. I can't remember which town or gang it was at the moment, but I do remember that the gang is suppose to be dangerous. They might skip our town, or they might not. And as per usual, the police have sent more officers. So, as not to gain your grandfather's wrath in case of injury, your appointments are canceled."

Luffy turned his head on its side. "Sooo I'm not coming here anymore?"

The man sighed. "Only for a while."

As usual, Luffy took it farther then it was. "Woohoo! I'm never coming back!" he cheered as stood on the couch and pumped his arms outwards, a huge grin on his face. He hopped of the furniture immediately, and headed for the door. Luffy pushed the glass door open with all his strength, flying through it without another thought.

"Wait! Luffy! I said for a while not-he's not listening." the man groaned and settled back into his chair. The door settled into its frame without a sound.

* * *

"Ahhhhh! Fresh air!" Luffy took in a deep breath and let it out. He cheerfully waved to the secretary as he passed her desk. She waved back and sent him a small smile, her attention quickly dropping pack to the papers on her desk.

Luffy pushed open the glass door- this door was funny. It had words printed on it that he didn't know. The words spelt C-H-I-L-D P-S-Y-C-H-I-A-T-R-I-S-T -to the outside world. To his surprise, something hit the door as he swung it open. He heard a loud crack followed by a swear word, and the door vibrated slightly. A police officer stumbled around it. The officer had a red splotch on his forehead, and was rubbing it as he viciously snarled at the small child.

"Oops. Sorry police-officer guy!" Luffy smiled to show he had no hard feelings. It was the officer's fault Luffy didn't get to slam the door all the way open as usual. But that's okay, he didn't know any better. The police officer glared, but made a wide circle around the kid just to be safe.

"Hmmm. Where to go? Where to go?" Luffy pondered as he headed down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the policeman. "I could find a barrel to climb into. Nah, I do that enough times. Maybe I go check out my ship?" He suggested, then nodded to himself. "Yeah, that's sounds like a great idea! To my ship!"

He took off towards his house. It took a good couple minutes of running, and parkour that looked straight out of a cartoon, but eventually Luffy caught sight of his house. It was actually a mansion, courtesy of his grandpa. People always seemed surprised when Luffy showed them his house. He didn't know why.

But he wasn't exactly going home right now. He was going next door! There was a really cool abandoned old house there. That place had been there forever! Vines grew everywhere on it, and not an inch of the house escaped their green grasp. An fence had been constructed by the neighbors to block the view. Why they didn't tear the building down instead was another mystery.

However, parked in the long driveway was an old car. It was an old four seater, one whose original color was long forgotten. It was nice green color now, like the old pennies he always found in his pockets. But most importantly, it was Luffy's "ship". He had found it a couple years ago while doing some exploring, and he claimed it as his own. He hadn't named it yet. It hadn't felt right to.

Luffy climbed into the driver seat and spun the wheel, imitating the sounds of the ocean. If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel the sea breeze brushing against his face, the way it teased him as it brushed through his hair with its gentle arms. The warmth of the sun on his skin was always along side the wind, filling his body with energy and happiness. There were times where he swears he could smell the water, and if he licked his lips he could almost taste the salt. In Luffy's mind this car was not a car at all. It was a ship.

Well, more like a canoe actually.

He would get a better ship though. Luffy knew he would. It was only a matter of time. Suddenly bored, he gave the steering wheel one last rough spin. Sighing, he laid down in the front and stared at the flaky greenish ceiling with his arms under his head. His thoughts wandered to the dream man from before, and he frowned.

"The dream-man doesn't know what he's talking about." Luffy scowled. "Those aren't dreams. They're memories."

 **A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for making it through the intro and reading the actual story! I know that intros like that typically drive people away, so I hope the story was worth it! Sorry if anything was confusing. I wrote this when I was 14, 15, and when I checked back on it years later I even found some stuff confusing. If you have any questions, I'll happily answer any of them.**

 **Please keep an eye out for any mistakes. I'm working on this with no beta, and with my old terrible writing I'm sure things slipped through. And there might be lots of them cause this story is going to be longer. I was impressed with my old self when it turned out to be over 20,000 words before I even made any edits. And my style back then was terrible, relying too much on the reader's imagination to see what I was seeing. And the chapters were so long. I split the original first chapter into three so it wouldn't be super long.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! And if you enjoyed it that much, feel free to follow, favorite, or comment if you want! Thanks!**


	2. Monkey D Garp and Shank's Hat

_**Monkey D. Garp**_

And Luffy could prove they were memories. But he didn't want to. It just didn't feel right, so he didn't. Cause what Luffy hadn't told the man that he could actually feel what happened in his dreams. The ache in his muscles as he ran from beasts in the woods with his two brothers, the hard bed he shared in their fort in the trees, the almost physical pain that caught in his chest from when Sabo was killed. He could clearly remember the sharp feeling of stabbing himself under his eye, and the warmth of the soft hands that touched his face after he had done it.

His head would still ached from the fists that pounded the top of his head too. It was nothin' compared to Gramp's Fists of Love when the scar first appeared under his eye, but they still hurt.

There was something else he hadn't said yet. At the end of his dream, after the peaceful sailing faded away, a face flashed before his eyes. He'd only catch a glimpse of the teenager with green hair and three earrings each time, but he remembered the face. It was almost impossible for him to forget. Something about the teen just stuck in Luffy's brain.

"The face makes me happy and relaxed." he thought briefly. "It's really weird. He's like a mystery man."

"LUUUUUUUUUFFFFYYYY!" A large voice roared out. It literally shook the vehicle he laid in, forcing Luffy to sit up.

Luffy frowned, adjusting his baseball cap without a thought. "That sounded like Gramps. Better see what he wants." he commented to himself. He reached over and opened the car door, hurriedly sliding out and shutting the it behind him. Then he rushed to the fence and pulled himself over the brick wall with ease. Landing on grass on the other side, he took off towards the house.

* * *

Monkey D. Garp was a big man, there was no way around it. He towered over practically everyone that surrounded him. His chest was broad as a tire and boasted the same thickness as well. With his wise old eyes staring into your soul, and his scruffy white beard that nearly gave him the appearance of a wildman, he intimidated the toughest Police Officers out there.

Which was to be expected. Garp worked for the police after all. And a pretty high rank up there as well. He was an Assistant Director, the third highest rank in the government. Above Assistant Director was Associate Director, and the very top was the Director.

But having a position so high in the government made life a little difficult for him. Because he also had his two grandsons to deal with. One would think as their legal guardian, he would endlessly dote upon them, but the opposite was quite true. Make no mistake, he loved both Ace and Luffy equally, but he treated them no different then the police he trained. Especially after Ace left to join a gang.

Mornings started with Garp, already in his uniform, screaming at Luffy in his room to get up and out of bed. That tactic usually didn't work, and was quickly followed by the daily 'Fist of Love'. In other words, a punch on the head. Once Luffy was up and whining about being punched, the chaos of getting ready for the day began.

Actually it was more randomly falling asleep in strange places then actual preparing. Then there was the classic accusations of the other falling asleep on them, followed by more 'Fists of Love' and insults. Once that was settled, they continued to get ready, only to fall asleep once more. After half an hour of this routine, Garp would leave for work, and Luffy would leave for school.

Despite all that, Luffy really did love his grandfather. But sometimes the old man was really annoying.

Luffy ran through the backyard of his house, slapping aside bushes and tripping over roots. Maybe if he was fast enough, he could reach the house before the old man got to him, and he could jump out and scare him again. As he bursted through the last bush, Luffy's heart wilted. The mighty Garp already stood on the back porch, his arms crossed and a bored slash annoyed look on his face.

"Hey Gramps." Luffy called, walking up to him. A trail of leaves and other natural debris followed him, leaving a track on the clean swept porch for the maids to take care of. Both grandfather and grandson ignored the mess.

"How many times have I told you?! Call me Grandfather!" Garp roared and swung his fist forward. Luffy tried to duck but ended up yelping, and rubbed the newly acquired bump on his forehead.

"Okay okay." Luffy grumbled, feeling the size of the lump. It was about average size. Good, the old man wasn't actually mad at him. "Yeesh."

"Dinner time." Garp pointed at double glass doors that lead to inside the mansion. Luffy let out an enormous sigh, and trudged carefully past his grandpa. A strong blast of wind nearly ripped his worn baseball cap off his head at the doors, but Luffy managed to catch it before it flew off. "Whew. That was close."

"Oh yeah! That reminds me. Don't forget to take your hat off for dinner. It's a new policy I'm starting." Garp spoke gruffly, pushing his grandson into the house. Luffy promptly ignored the extra motivation in favor of sticking his tongue out at the old man, and took off through the living room and into the dining room table in a big haste. Garp was always trying to make new policies or whatever. They never worked so Luffy just ignored them.

Oooo, Luffy loved dinner! Cause it was all MEAT! Steak, pork, ham, drum sticks of all sorts, lunchboxes, takoyaki, Land King meat with multiple sauces and garnishing, and whole roasted pigs with apples in their mouths! The table could barely hold the whole feast. It was absolute heaven! And it was hardly enough to make Luffy stuffed, but there was plenty to satisfy him and Garp. Both the hungry Monkey D. men dived into the feast with relish.

Halfway through the meal Garp glared at Luffy, a giant ham shoved part of the way into his mouth. He swallowed the rest of the meat quickly, letting out a loud burp before placing a elbow on the table and leaning forward to stare intensely at the young boy at the other end of the table. "Luffy! What did I say about hats?"

"N-nothin?" Luffy stuttered, not making eye contact. Maybe if he didn't say anything the old man would forget about it. With a sigh, Garp reached over and plucked the worn baseball cap off Luffy's head.

"Hey!" Luffy protested, his hands coming to cover his raven hair in surprise. He barely saw the old man move, he was so fast!

"I let you wear your vest and your weird shorts with the fluffy cuffs, but I decided there shall be no hats at the table. Until you understand that rule, I'll be keeping this." Garp scolded. The baseball cap disappeared into his government cloak. Which was several feet above Luffy's head.

"But that's like forever!" Luffy shouted, his eyes wide as he stared in dismay.

 _Knock!_ Luffy yelped and scrambled backwards, nursing the new lump on his head.

"No yelling in the house!" Garp hollered, then crossed his arms with his face locked in a determined expression. Luffy knew that face. The old man wasn't about to back down or change his mind.

A ball of anger ignited inside Luffy. It was a hot kind of anger, the kind that makes you want to destroy something and not feel bad about it. Or when somebody did something that was really, really mean, and you can't control your body because all you see is red. The feeling was weird, but strangely familiar at the same time. Like he had felt this kind of anger many times before. Odd, considering this was the first time he remembered being this mad before in either life. But that wasn't cool of Gramps! How dare that old coot take his hat! Sure it wasn't the straw hat from Shanks, but that was his!

"Not fair!" Luffy roared, clenching his fists. His arms quivered at his sides. The edges of his vision were red, and Luffy really wanted to punch something. But if he did that, the old man would yell at him again. So instead, Luffy reigned himself in and turned and stormed out of the dining room. Garp jerked in surprise. He was expecting an upset reaction, but not to that caliber. That was unusual. He settled into a confused state of mind as he watched his grandson exit the room.

"If only I could stretch like in my dream-memories!" Luffy muttered as he ran. "Then I'd sneak my long arms under that stupid coat and steal my hat back."

His feet took him to the entrance area of the mansion, and up the double grand staircase. He burst onto the second floor and ran into the first room on the right, his bedroom. It was the second biggest, which was unfair cause the old man's room was bigger but Gramps never uses it. Luffy should have the bigger room 'cause he used his a lot more. Luffy jumped onto his pirate themed bed and buried his face in his Jolly Roger-decorated pillow.

"Stupid Gramps. Doesn't understand." he muttered after a moment, depression filling his voice. The next sentence slipped out of his mouth on its own accord. "That hat is my treasure."

"Fine." he flopped onto his back. Defiant determination filled up inside him. "If Gramps takes my hat, I'll just find another."

And Luffy knew exactly where to find one.

He sat up and scrambled to his bedroom door. Ever so carefully, he cracked the door open about a inch. Peeking his head outside, he checked to see if any of the maids or Gramps were traversing the hall. Seeing no one, he took off towards the end of the long hallway, where Garp's room took the very end. The large decorated doorway towered over the small ten year old, but Luffy was undaunted.

He swung open the door. An empty room greeted him. A bright smile appeared on his face, and Luffy confidently strode into the old man's room. It was a simple room, colored white with navy blue furniture. Inside was a bed, two wardrobes, a TV, a small nightstand, and a walk-in closet.

Luffy headed into the closet. The place was simple as closets go, the only obvious abnormal thing was that all the clothes hanging on the rack were identical. That was, until you notice the hidden door. Luffy had accidently discovered the hidden door a couple years ago, when he was exploring and ran into the wall too hard, which popped the door open. It was an awesome discovery that left Luffy's eyes as sparkles. Gramps didn't know that he knew about it, and he wanted to keep it that way. The old man would probably ban him from going in there if he found out. Cause inside was where Garp's collection of trinkets from years of fighting gangs was stored.

It was hidden treasure, and it thrilled Luffy to no end. Sometimes Gramps would pulled out a trinket and tell him stories on how he got the item, and when he was gone Luffy would always sneak into the secret room to admire it for longer. The place was so cool. There was even pedestals for the objects! There was a rusty old shotgun, a pair of gloves with claws on the end of each finger, one muddy red boot, and a lot more cool things. There was even a sword with a black sheath and a rusted away blade.

But that wasn't what he was after today. What Luffy wanted was the baseball hat that rested on the biggest pedestal. A replacement hat for his own lost hat. And since Gramps took his hat, it was only fair Luffy took a hat from him.

He knew Garp claimed that hat was from Red-hair Shanks, whose managed to avoid the old man for years. The old man said he got the hat when someone shoved Red-hair from behind on top of a roof where he was taunting the police, and the hat was knocked off his head and it literally fell down into Garp's hands. Gramps sure was surprised. It was almost like the hat wanted to come with him, he would say later. Shanks must have figured that his hat was a lost hope, because he never came back for it even though it looked like it him hurt to leave it.

Luffy paused a moment to take in the gangster's hat. It was a dark blue with a skull and crossbones on the front. It was in surprisingly good shape for its age, almost brand new.

"Shanks probably really loved this hat to keep good care of it." Luffy thought. "He musta' been so mad when Gramps snatched it from him!"

"Perfect!" Luffy picked it up from the pedestal and placed it on his head. It fit perfectly. He didn't even need to mess with the strap on the back to adjust it to his head size. He beamed. It was perfect! Meant to be!

His conscious chose that moment to kick in. Luffy froze, guilt worming its way onto his face. "Wait! I can't steal it! That's bad!" His brain thought furiously for a loophole. He really, really, really wanted this and- Aha! Found one! "Oh wait, I know. I'm only borrowing it. I'll give it back when I get my hat back!"

Luffy grinned. Then he turned around and skipped to the secret door. Oooo, what could he do now that he had his hat back? Maybe go play pirates in his room some more. He could reenact beating up the fat pirate lady again! That was a bunch of fun! Completely absorbed in his memory, Luffy failed to measure the distance between the doorframe and his head.

His forehead smacked against the top of the doorframe, taking the boy completely by surprise and knocking him off his feet. Luffy landed on his back, hands instantly coming up to gingerly cover his bruised head. His hat fluttered to the floor behind him.

"Owwwww." Luffy whined. Where did that come from?! Nothing in the secret room was short enough to smack his head. He looked up, frowning. That was weird. The door seemed shorter than normal. Weird. Oh well, it was probably because he had a different hat on. It probably made him taller or something. He shrugged it off. Luffy reached behind him for his hat. He touched something, but it definitely wasn't fabric. It felt dry and stiff.

"What the heck?" Luffy swiveled his head and looked at the ground behind him.

There was an old straw hat with a red ribbon wrapped around the base of the hat resting on the ground besides him.


	3. Straw Hat Monkey D Luffy

_**Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy**_

"What? Where did that come from? Where is my hat?" Luffy squawked, thoroughly confused. His hat couldn't have just vanished. He scanned the entire room from his sitting position. Nothing. His gaze landed on the straw hat again. He squinted at it. It looked oddly familiar. Where had he seen it before? It almost looked like-Wait a minute!

"The straw hat from my dream-memories?" Luffy wondered. He twisted his body around and picked it up. There was a string attached to the bottom, coming across like a strap. He put the old straw hat on his head. For some reason, a wave of relief rushed over him the moment the hat comfortably settled onto his head.

"This feels right... Why?" Luffy muttered, twisting the hat around on his head until the string was in front of his face, and kind of tucked under his chin. Luffy stared at the secret door for a moment, his mind running a mile a minute. Where did his baseball cap go? Why did having the hat make him feel so good? Why did he hit his head on the secret door? Why did they call animal legs drumsticks when animals had nothing to do with drums?

Luffy made a face. Whatever. He had a cool new hat now! Gramps would probably be mad that Shank's hat disappeared, but he'd deal with that later.

"This is way better than a gangster's hat! It's a pirate hat!" Luffy exclaimed as he stood and tried to leave the room once more. This time he made sure to duck his head as he slipped out of the secret room and into the closet. Okay, now it was time to check out his reflection! The pirate hat probably made him look so scary and tough! He skipped to the inside of the closet door- ignoring the fact that the clothes hanging inside the closet were noticeably not as large as when he entered -where a hanging mirror dominated the door.

Luffy charged at the door in a random bout of hyperness, jumping and landing a couple feet in front of the mirror in a cool pose, flexing both of his arm muscles. He couldn't wait to see! He glanced at his reflection. Luffy gasped and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as his jaw dropped to the floor. Literally. As in the bottom of his jaw touched the carpet, and it kinda tickled so he closed his mouth after a couple seconds.

Luffy had grown.

And it wasn't a couple of inches. It was more like a couple of feet. His customary vest was gone, replaced with this weird frillish shirt that was the same color, and his pants were the same, but a little longer. A bright yellow sash was tied around his waist. He still had his sandals, but they were bigger and more worn down looking than before. But Luffy was buff! In a skinny sort of way, but he still had muscles! Hard abs displayed an X shaped scar on his chest, and his legs and arms were much bigger than not too long ago. It was so weird. His whole body was uncomfortably heavier, but it was relaxing at the same time. There was this mystery feeling in the back of brain, but Luffy ignored it for the moment.

Luffy's jaw dropped all the way to the ground again. Stars appeared over his eyes as he ogled over his new body. A finger poked at the scar on his chest. He didn't look like this in his dream-memories! This body was older, and probably lot's stronger. But it had to be the same one. Luffy intently stared at his face in the mirror.

"This is not what I imagined when I said the hat would make me look tougher!" he rubbed the scar under his eye. A random thought popped into his head.

"Wait, can I stretch like in my dream-memories?" he wondered out loud. He turned to the top shelf of the closet, a good three feet above normal arm-length.

"It was Gomu right? Okay then, Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!" Luffy pulled his arm behind him, then swung it forward. To his intense delight, Luffy's fist reached all the way to the back of the shelf, smashing a fist-sized hole in the wall.

"Yes!' Luffy cheered as his arm snapped back to normal. He stared at his limb with amazement written all over his face.

"So cool!" The sparkle in his eyes brightened. It didn't feel unnatural to have his arm stretch like that at all! Felt totally normal. All it did was make his excitement grow. Luffy's grin nearly split his face. This was soooooo cool! He could do all sorts of things with his rubbery arms like-

The inside of a small boat suddenly flashed before his eyes, and Luffy jerked back in surprise. What the heck! Where did that come from!? Luffy frowned, and the scene changed, sliding across the inside of the boat to the back. It showed Coby, sitting by the steering mechanism. Luffy could feel his amazement as they pulled up to a small town on an island. They were actually at the place they set out to go to! Then he remembered that him and Colby were in a town, looking for someone. But he couldn't remember the name of the person, much less what they looked like. And every time either he or Coby would say the name, their voices cut out for a split second, leaving the current Luffy clueless. The memory took him through the town, chatting with Coby all the way. It ended with Luffy popping his head over a brick wall, and Coby freaking out below him.

Once again the memory faded away, and the image of a green haired teenager flashed before Luffy's eyes before disappearing. It was the same guy from his other dream-memories! Luffy placed a hand on top of his hat, stumped.

"Who is that?" he wondered. "Is he a superhero? He doesn't have a cape though."

He dove into the memory again, replaying it in his brain. Maybe he missed something? But nothing changed no matter how many times he looked through it. Slightly frustrated, he glanced at himself in the mirror.

"HUH?!" He gasped into the mirror, a small and wimpy ten year old once more. His jaw dropped, a normal length this time. "It's not forever? Aww, that stinks! Can I change back?"

Luffy scrunched his forehead and closed his eyes in concentration, clenching his fists as he focused all his mental capacity on his older body as he crouched slightly and he let out a long "Hrnnnnnnnn!". After a couple minutes he peeked an eye open.

The grown-up Luffy peeked back at him in the mirror.

"Sweet! I did it!" he cheered. Luffy stood straight and admired himself in the mirror for a couple moments before a question struck. If he could become big, then could he go back to being small? Being small could be helpful sometimes. He dropped into his previous pose, this time thinking about being small again. It worked. Seconds later he was small again. A beaming grin erupted on Luffy's face.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed, hand on straw hat. He practiced switching between the two bodies a couple more times. He settled on his young body. "Guess this means I'm really a pirate." he gave a big grin into the mirror as only a young child could.

A loud bang echoed throughout the house, drawing Luffy's away from himself. Garp's muffled voice quickly followed the sound. Luffy frowned. "I better get outta here before Gramps sees me like this."

He walked out of the closet as his pirate self, crossing the room in double time. He reached the door, and easily grabbed the door handle and opened the door. Wait. He should probably be small if he walks out of Gramps room. Don't want anyone seeing him like this. He took a step out of the room as he concentrated on his younger body. He knew it worked when the floor was farther away than what his body expected, and he stumbled a bit. But he quickly recovered and ran down the hall into his room. He quietly shut his door behind him, then sat in the middle of the floor. He examined his bed with a critical eye.

"I need a hammock." he muttered. He liked the decorations on his bed, but nothing could beat sleeping in a hammock.

Heavy footsteps pounded from the stairs. Oh crap, oh crap Gramps was coming! He needed to hide his new hat! He let out a gasp and stood, jerking his head like crazy to find a hiding spot. His panic grew as the footsteps became louder then soften as they stepped on carpet. Come on, come on, comeon,comeon,comeon- AH! There! Luffy ripped off his new hat and threw it under his bed right as Garp burst out the door.

"Bed!" Garp commanded, and pointed at the mention piece of furniture. Luffy pouted but obeyed his grandfather and climbed into his bed.

He sat under the covers stiffly for a moment, wearing his intense thinking face. "Hey Gramps."

 _Knock!_ "Call me Grandfather!"

"I want a hammock," Luffy continued _,_ rubbing his new lump absentmindedly. "They're better than beds."

Garp paused for a moment, halfway out the door with his hand on the handle. A hammock? The thought appealed to the old man, but Garp wasn't about to admit it. He'd just buy one later and claim it was his idea. He switched off the light switch, leaving the hall as the only source of light.

"We'll see." He said as he shut the door, plunging the room into darkness.

Luffy waited in the dark as Gramp's footsteps faded. The moment the giant door into Garp's room slammed shut, Luffy threw the covers off his legs and scrambled out of bed. He laid against the carpet floor and reached his hand under his bed, reaching for his new hat. Wow, he threw it harder than he thought. Finally he caught it with the tips of his fingers and dragged it out. He grinned and plopped the baseball cap onto his head.

Perfect. Now he just had to go find that green-haired guy.

Luffy went to the window. He opened it and scouted the yard. There were some bushes, a small fountain, and a giant tree that was ten feet away from his window. Normally it way out of his reach, something he had cursed about on his other escape attempts, but it wasn't anymore.

Luffy focused on his older body. The window shrunk, and he grinned 'cause he knew it worked. His escape plan was working so well! Luffy pulled his arm back then threw it forward. His rubber hand firmly grasped one of the biggest branches. Luffy giggled. He braced his feet against the wall under the window and leaned back, stretching his arms even more. Then he let his legs relax, and Luffy shot out the window with a loud _snap!_. Joy immediately flowed through Luffy's mind. Holy crap this was sooo cool! It was almost like he was flying! The wind rushed past Luffy's face, and he nearly let out a loud cheer. This was absolutely exhilarating! He felt like he could do this forever and ever and ever!

At least, until he face planted against the trunk limb.

"Owwwwwww." Luffy peeled his face off the wood. His straw hat was tilted haphazardly on his head, staying on only by the string strap. Luffy blinked a little foggily at the tree, then a smile broke out on his face and he laughed. "Ishishish, that actually didn't hurt! Cause I'm rubber now!"

Skillfully, he clambered to the base of the branch and slid down the trunk of the tree. He landed with a little huff, cast an admiring glance up the tree, then proceeded to take the fastest way out of the yard. Which, by most standards it was absolutely worst path to take. After all, someone only needed to look out the window and spot the shady person running down the driveway. But Luffy was fast now, much faster than anyone else in the house. Maybe even faster than the old man now. He'd be gone before they reached the closest phone. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the driveway though.

"Sorry Gramps…." Luffy looked back at his mansion, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice. This world Gramps was rough, rude, stubborn, and hit him a lot, but he did take really good care Luffy. Better than last time by keeping Luffy himself instead of leaving him with bandits. It almost tugged at the pirate's heartstrings to leave the old man behind. "...But I've got to go find my crew now. Thanks for the meat."

Turning his back to the house, Luffy took off in a random direction. He had absolutely no clue where he was going. The little insistent tugging in the back of his mind was back, telling Luffy he needed to head _this way_. This time he didn't ignore it, putting all his trust in the tugging. It was taking him to his crewmates, Luffy knew it had to be.

After ten minutes passed of hard running- he gave birth to flames as a dog chased him at one point. It was so cool! -Luffy was nowhere close to being pooped. He wasn't even tired. His body felt like he could run for a lot longer, but the tugging feeling was really stronger here. Almost overwhelming actually. Luffy let out a huff, his body's only reaction to so much physical exercise.

Curious to what could be around here, Luffy looked around at his surroundings. There was the typical buildings, tall ones, short ones, stores, homes, but the one that caught his attention was a squat square building with glass doors. Lights were all on inside, making the doors appear to glow. Right above the door was a sign that declared the building as the Isshin Dojo. Luffy's tugging sensation increased, until it was only a couple degrees away from become a headache.

Guess that's the place. Luffy glanced down at himself. The pirate body was a little too tough looking. The dojo probably wouldn't let him in while looking like a gangster. He'd have to tone it down. Reluctantly, Luffy shrunk to his more vulnerable form.

Luffy shoved open one of the doors as he walked in, a little bell ringing as he did so. The inside of the building was open, with padded floor that had a very distinct Oriental feel to them. The students would face the back of the room, where the wall was covered roof to floor in a giant mirror. The other three walls were plain with only a single door leading to another room, and a double door to someplace else across the room. There was a giant barrel full of wooden katanas parked right besides the two doors. Despite the time of night, there was one single child with green hair practicing in uniform. The boy paid Luffy no mind, yet a man with glasses and a ponytail stuck his head out from behind the single door.

"Lost?" He asked, stepping out of the other room completely. Luffy caught a glimpse of a an desk in the room before the door shut completely. It was an office maybe?

Not willing to lie, because he knew he was absolutely terrible at it, Luffy simply nodded. The man sighed. "Don't worry, you're not the first to come here once night arrives. I'll grab some blankets. Just stay right there." He disappeared into the office.

Already bored, Luffy turned his attention to the boy. The tugging sensation almost knocked him off his feet. This weird kid with green hair was important somehow. Very, very important. But had hard as Luffy racked his brain, he couldn't think of why. The answer was _this_ close, he could sense it!

The boy ignored Luffy in favor of swinging his two swords. He traded a couple more fake blows with nothing, before he jumped over an intangible low-slung sword and stabbed the owner through the chest with his own wooden katana. Turning, the boy sliced an imaginary foe in half with one sword while decapitating another with the other.

"What do you think of his skill?"

Luffy startled and swung around to face the dojo's master. He was so concentrated on figuring out why the green haired kid was important that he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings! But even distracted Luffy should've heard him coming. The guy was like a ninja or something! "Huh?"

The dojo master held several blankets and a pillow in his arms. "The kid," he pointed at the boy. "He's the best this dojo has to offer. Even the adult students can't defeat him."

"Really!" Luffy's eyes turned to sparkles and he turned back to stare the kid again. That was so cool! Something about his green hair kept drawing Luffy's eye.

"Yes." the man laughed, amused by Luffy's obvious admiration tactic. "Here, you may sleep wherever you want in this room. Just not by the glass door, as gangs tend to break my door. They always think I might have something valuable in here."

The dojo master placed the blankets on the floor besides the wooden katana filled barrel and with practiced movements began constructing a simple mattress and pillow while Luffy watched the green-haired kid with growing interest. It was getting really late, and the kid was still here. Was he staying tonight to?

Luffy had to ask. "Why are you makin' only one bed? Doesn't he need one?"

"Hm? Oh. No. I don't worry about him. He can take care of himself." the adult answered cheerfully, folding a blanket as he spoke.

"So cool!" Luffy hopped up and down in one place in excitement. This kid was awesome! Stinks he was a kid, or else Luffy would totally invite him to be on his crew. But they couldn't have two people with green hair on the crew, it would get really confusing.

"Well, I have to go. My daughter is waiting for me at home. Will you stay out of trouble Mr..?" The dojo master stood up and offered a hand, his open-ended question obvious to even the most thick-headed.

"I'm Luffy." Luffy took the hand and shook it.

The green haired boy's arm froze mid-swing, his face filled with mild confusion. He held that pose for a moment, then he shook his head and continued on with his strike.

"Well Luffy, the barrel should prevent anyone from outside from seeing you so no one should bother you. There is a bathroom in my office if you need it, and I can leave the light on if you want." The dojo master walked back into said office a returned a second later with a black coat over his clothes. He looked at the boy practicing with the sword. "Can I trust you to lock up?"

No reaction. The dojo master sighed. He could always appreciate a student throwing themselves into training and practice, but this one always took it too far.

"Zoro!"

 _ **A/N: Hey guys! Hope you all like this new chapter. I'm not completely satisfied with it, but it's what I got. Just to mention, I'm going to have an interesting mix of English and Japanese. Like for Luffy's attacks, its going to be "Gomu Gomu no.." and then the**_ _ **English**_ _ **translation. I always thought that "Gum Gum" sounded kinda lame, but I didn't want to go full Japanese, so that is my**_ _ **compromise**_ _ **. Everyone else's attacks will English, unless they are in another**_ _ **language like Sanji, Brook, and Robin. Anyways, Thanks For Reading!**_ __


	4. Roronoa Zoro

_**Roronoa Zoro**_

Luffy's eyes widen as the kid turned around. The realization was like a slap to the face. It was the teenager from his memories. But younger. Of course he would be younger! Luffy was younger, so everyone else would be to. Why did he think he would be the only one affected by the age thing? Nonetheless, excitement traveled up Luffy's spine. His crew mate was so cool already.

"I'll lock up Sensei." Zoro placed one of his wood katanas on his shoulder while the other hung at his side. His uniform of a white shirt and really dark green pants seemed to match him perfectly. Luffy frowned at Zoro's stomach. There was something missing. A haramaki maybe?

"Good. My thanks." the dojo master put a hat on. "Keep safe Zoro! And don't bother our guest Luffy!" he called, walking out the glass door. It clang shut behind him. Almost immediately, Luffy onto Zoro, pestering him with every question his brain could come up with.

"How old are you? Do you like meat? Why are you so short? Who do you like to fight? What is your last name? Do you poop? When is your birthday? Why is your hair green? What is your favorite food?"

At first, Zoro pushed off the questions like they were nothing, and settled back into his training regimen. But Luffy was more stubborn than he gave credit for, and his mouth kept spitting out question after question until Zoro could no longer ignore it.

"Shut up!" Zoro growled. He answered the three questions he could remember. "I'm twelve, of course I poop I'm human, and my hair is naturally this color." He glared at Luffy, daring the boy with the baseball cap to say more.

Hair color was a sore subject. Let's just say lots of people believed he dyed his hair, despite the fact that he'd had green hair from birth. Other kids were always teasing him about it. So of course Zoro defended the fact that it was his real hair color. It resulted in multiple fights with a lot of different people. And those fights made plenty of places kick him out. He had gained a reputation as a demon for how fiercely he fought, but Zoro didn't care what others said.

Luffy wilted, his enthusiasm disappearing quickly. "You didn't answer all my questions." he muttered dejectedly.

"I'm not answering all those questions." Zoro grouched, swinging his two katanas at the air again. He was determined to ignore the weird kid this time.

Luffy brightened. "How come you use two swords? Doesn't three swords sound better?"

"Three swords." Zoro scoffed. That was too ridiculous to not ignore. "Where would I hold a third sword? My mouth?"

Luffy nodded and Zoro rolled his eyes. Of course that is what the weird kid would say. "Whatever. Go to sleep."

"Okay!" Luffy skipped to his blanket bed by the wooden sword barrel. He carefully placed his hat besides him before Luffy buried himself under the blankets, leaving only the top of his head sticking out. Luffy completely trusted Zoro. Not sure why yet, but Luffy would figure it out soon. After all, Zoro was part of his crew.

Zoro scoffed at Luffy once more and went back to practicing. He held the two wood katanas about a foot apart as he spun around, effectively slicing any enemies surrounding him. Grudgingly, Zoro had to admit the idea of using three swords had sounded right.

But he despised the idea of listening to that kid even more. At least, that is what Zoro tried to tell himself. There was a part of him that actually wanted to obey the weird kid with no questions. It was odd, cause Zoro never wanted to listen to anyone in his whole life like that before. And it started the moment he heard the kid's name. What was it again? He had a really hard time with names, so he didn't expect to remember it.

 _Luffy_. The sudden remembrance of the name derailed his train of thought. Luffy huh? What a weird name. But it was sorta familiar, like he'd heard it- Zoro shook his head, dislodging any more thoughts. He couldn't afford to concentrate on the Luffy kid. He needed to practice so he could scare off that other annoyance!

Minutes of silence went by. Luffy actually stayed quiet, keeping to himself in his blanket huddle. And it would have stayed like that, except the bell rang as the door opened and two brown haired boys swaggered into the dojo. He'd never seen them before. They were obviously older than Zoro, probably around fifteen. But what really caught his attention was the scars that they had on their slightly beefy arms. Zoro's eyes narrowed. They had been through a few fights.

A smaller blond boy trailed in behind the two older boys, and Zoro had to resist a groan. He knew this idiot. It was the other annoyance.

"Hellooo Zoroooo!"

Zoro glared at him and raised one of his wooden practice katanas at the blond's chest.

"Don't raise that thing at me like that! I am Morgan's son, Helmeppo! Do you want my daddy involved in this?" the small blond boy threatened, a smug grin on his face.

Zoro snarled silently at him. That wasn't even a good threat! But he lowered the wood katana nonetheless. "What do you want?"

Helmeppo smiled at the obvious anger in Zoro's tone. He cast his eyes around the building, pretending to examine the inside but he was really just showing off his influence by making Zoro wait. He frowned when he noticed Luffy. "Who's this wimp? Backup for a fight?"

"No. He's just a kid that didn't make it home before night," Zoro shouldered one of his swords. "Ignore him."

Helmeppo jeered at Luffy, who was blatantly staring at him. Luffy cocked his head, scrunching his face in concentration. Why did this blond kid look familiar? Had he met him before? Maybe he was on Luffy's crew.

"Fine. But if he joins in this little meeting of ours in anyway, I'll have my daddy shut this place down."

Zoro stiffened, grounding his teeth in an attempt to control his anger. This brat was nothing, but the threat he carried was very much real. Zoro couldn't let the dojo shut down. It was the only place Zoro was truly comfortable. Not even that stupid foster home made him feel safe. So for the sake of the dojo, Zoro held his temper. Barely. "What... do... you... want?!"

"There's no need to sound so angry. All that I want you to do is join my little special group, and if you do I can get Daddy to save this failing place. It is always so empty. I'm positive that you are the only student. It's destined to shut down eventually, and I can stop that from happening. And if you don't join, then I'll just have to shut this place down." Helmeppo smirked. The way that Zoro's face paled widened the smirk even more.

Several fists clenched and became sweaty. Luffy sucked in a fast breath. That blond guy was such a jerk! He definitely wasn't on his crew. There was no way Luffy would allow someone like that on it!

Helmeppo turned to Luffy. "Got any thoughts on how generous I am wimp? This dying old place is near bankruptcy, and here I am offering to save it if he pledges his loyalty to me. I'm so kind." He paused to hear what Luffy had to say, as he wanted to bask in the praise of the fellow kid.

Instead, Luffy stuck his tongue out at him. "Onion hair!"

Helmeppo straightened abruptly, a surprised look on his face for a moment before it turned into a glare. Zoro let out a small snort. Gutsy move. Then he recovered faced Helmeppo. "I'm not joining your wanna-be gang. I have no interest in becoming a gangster. Plus this place isn't failing! You just keep coming in after everyone left."

"It's not a gang! Daddy would be so disappointed if I made a gang! It's a special group loyal only to me!" Helmeppo insisted. The two boys standing by his sides shifted expectantly.

"It's a gang under a different name." Zoro said. In the background. Luffy shook his head vigorously. Onion Hair was making a gang, even he could get that.

The fifteen year old boy on the right cracked his knuckles and the left one popped his neck as a vein appeared on Helmeppo's head. "You know what? I take back my offer. This stupid building can crumble to dust for all I care. But I can't afford for you to be running your mouth, just in case Daddy hears something about it. Joe, Bob, take care of this trash." He snapped his fingers.

Zoro barely managed to lift both his swords before the boy on the right, Joe, crashed into him, barely raising his swords high enough to block the punch. His feet slid back a millimeter as he struggled to keep his katanas steady. That was hardly noticeable to the others, but it didn't escape Zoro's attention. Crap, this guy was a lot stronger than the average riff-raff Helmeppo brought with him.

Luffy ducked down behind the barrel. The baseball cap was right where he left it, and he determinedly jammed it onto his head. He had seen the way Zoro's arm shook as he blocked the punch, and Luffy just had to help. Usually Luffy refused to fight in other people's battles, but this was different. He wasn't about to let one of his crew members get beaten by a kid! He took a step away from the barrel.

Zoro's eyes jerked to Luffy, catching the other boy's action and correctly interpreting the intention. There was no way Zoro was letting a random stranger get involved in his trouble. "Stay there! This is my business, and my business alone."

Luffy paused. What was he thinking? Zoro was right, this was his fight, and Luffy had no right to join in. He nodded in agreement, and stepped back to the barrel. Luffy leaned against it, his head tilted down slightly so that the visor of his cap covered his eyes while a single hand rested on top of the hat.

Zoro turned back to Joe. Excitement started to pound through the child's body, and a devilish smirk appeared on his face. He couldn't wait to start fighting, hadn't had a good fight in ages. Zoro pushed the boy back with a surprising bout of strength and quickly swiped Joe's head. There was a loud smack as the two connected, and the boy's head tilted slightly from the force, but that was it. No reaction. Zoro frowned. That wasn't right. The kid should be crying on the floor right now. He aimed another blow at his opponent's head as Joe stood still. Nothing. Not even a reflexive sound like a gasp or a grunt.

"What?" Zoro breathed.

That's when the boy on the left, Bob, struck. He flew over the distance even faster than Joe, and struck Zoro with a heavy punch to the side. Zoro flew sideways, smashing into the wooden barrel, crushing it into pieces. Luffy yelped as a giant splinter barely missed his head and pierced the wall behind him. Zoro moaned in pain as wooden swords began to tumble out of the barrel and all over him, but he kept his grip on his two weapons.

Helmeppo laughed his irritating, aggravating laugh. "That won't do anything stupid. Their daddy use to beat these them with sticks all the time before I saved them, and they were so grateful that they joined my group. They don't feel your little sword attacks. If you want to hurt them, you're going to need actual swords."

"Dang it!" Zoro cursed as he struggled to escape the swords. "Sensei refuses to have real swords here!"

He hauled himself out of the practice sword pile. Zoro's side burned like someone jabbed a hot poker to it, but he stubbornly ignored it and forced himself to his feet. The Luffy kid was giving him a weird look as Zoro kicked the extra swords away from his feet, a mixture of nostalgia and hope. One practice sword went spinning, coming to a halt the the kid's feet. The Luffy kid picked it up and stared at is as if it held an answer to all his questions.

Zoro ignored him. He couldn't afford to concentrate on something else outside the fight. It could get him in serious trouble. He lifted his two practice swords, and Zoro's eyes narrowed. He could win this. It would be close, but he could win. He'd probably need a hospital after though. Zoro launched himself forward, and right as he moved something was hastily shoved into his mouth. He could tell from the taste of wood and sweat that was the hilt of another wooden sword.

What?

Something inside him exploded. A rush of power tumbled out of him as Zoro threw himself at the two fifteen year olds. The power was clumsy, but excited, like it had been locked away for a long time and was now finally released. He bit harder on the hilt as his heart started to beat faster and adrenaline pumped through his veins. Without thinking, Zoro crouched and crossed his arms and stuck his practice swords straight up into the air as he flew forward. At what felt like the perfect moment, Zoro uncrossed his arms and held them straight out to the sides as he came to an abrupt halt.

He held that pose for a couple moment, letting his heart calm down and the adrenaline fade away. Zoro blinked, a little unsteady as he straightened. Where was he? This was the other side of the dojo, by the door. Did he travel across the entire building in one move? Huh. A thrill of joy shot up Zoro's spine when he heard Joe and Bob shriek in pain. Yes, he'd actually hurt the jerks! When two thumps sounded behind him, his joy turned to confusion.

 **A/N: Hello to the** **incredible readers who are still following! You guys are the best, and I really loved all of your comments. It makes it even better when I consider that this isn't even my best work. Its stuff I wrote years ago and then edited more recently without trying to mess with the main idea. My real good stuff starts at the end of Usopp's conversion, so I hope you guys can continue patiently waiting while I get through this.**

 **So, there is no sword-crazy-Kuina in this. I can explain. My reasoning in the story is that she had other stuff that caught her attention. And with all the women self empowering stuff going around, she never felt the need to prove herself as strong, so she didn't pick up the sword for that reason. I'm sure she's swung it around a few times, but never pursued it farther. My real reason is that I figured she is dead in the real One Piece, so I'd just leaver be. Also cause I couldn't figure out how to fit her in and still make Zoro leave the dojo easily.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!**


	5. Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro

_**Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro**_

"What?" Zoro spun around and looked at the floor. The two fifteen year olds were laying on the ground, covered in bloody slice marks and twitching. What in the…. He had practice swords! They were made of wood! They couldn't even cut a tomato! Zoro glanced down at the swords in his hands.

His heart stopped, and his body went weak. It seemed like any moment now his limbs were about to give up and collapse. Yet somehow the grip on his swords never failed.

His practice swords. They were real metal. As in real metal swords. Exactly like the ancient family sword Sensei had once let him hold. They were heavy, cold, polished, and deadly. Any hint of the previous wood was gone, like it had never existed. What… in… the... Zoro's teeth clamped on something hard, startling him out of his thoughts. The third sword! He'd forgotten about it! How could he do that?! It was a sword in his mouth! But it felt right, somehow. Familiar. Like he was use to having a freaking sword in his mouth.

But the swords weren't the only thing that changed.

Zoro himself had impossibly grown- around two feet in height if he had to guess -, and towered above everyone around him. The familiar white shirt and dark green pants uniform were replaced by a long green coat with no hood. It left Zoro's chest bare, showing off muscles that certainly hadn't been there five minutes earlier. Dark green pants clothed his muscular legs, tucked into the same color of boots. His left ear suddenly grew heavier.

Zoro had a little heart attack when he blinked in astonishment and his left eye refused to open. Panic bubbled into his chest and he jerked around to view himself in the dojo's mirrors. His breath left him as he caught sight of the short scar covering his eye. He freaked a little, at least on the inside. Zoro held a hand to his face, gingerly touching the scar. Where did that come from?! How did he get it?! Did he have any more? Quickly Zoro's eyes darted around his own body. A long scar peeked out on his chest caught his attention. Crap, he did have more. And that one looked nasty. It must have hurt like heck to get it.

Something jingled by his ear, startling him. Three gold earrings dangled from his left ear, accounting for the sudden weight. Stunned, Zoro's gaze slowly slid to Helmeppo. The young boy's eyes were wide, and he stared at Zoro in absolute shock and horror.

"Impossible." Zoro muttered, then his eye widen. His voice! It was so deep! He placed a trembling hand on his chest, staggered by the way it rumbled within him. This was just freaking crazy. How in the world does this even happen?!

At the sound of Zoro's deeper voice, Helmeppo let out a unmanly shriek and scuttled for the door.

"Wait!" Zoro called as the blond struggled with the door handle before flinging the door open and fled. Helmeppo couldn't just leave! The idiot was the most normal thing in here! 'Wait!"

"There's no point. He won't listen. He's scared out of his mind."

Zoro turned to stare at Luffy, his confusion evident in his single eye. Luffy laughed as he covered his eyes with his straw hat. "Shishishishish. What do you think Zoro?"

Zoro's jaw dropped. The Luffy kid had changed to! He was taller, and had a big scar on his chest as well. They had both done thing growing thing! Were they cursed?!

"What is happening?!" he groaned. Zoro dropped to the floor, carefully placed his three swords down, and grabbed his head with both hands. He wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Then suddenly, he was on a mountain, staring down at a small village. Zoro eyed a building near the edge of town, chewing on the leaf he'd stuck in his mouth. Images began flash through his head. Zoro had to hold his breath. It was like watching a movie in fast forward, but he knew already what was happening. And he knew it intimately well, like he'd actually lived through it. Everything from the arriving at the dojo, challenging Kuina, their vow to each other, to her death and earning her sword, the bounties he captured while traveling on his own, and meeting Luffy, fighting Morgan, Luffy's kidnapping by seagull, and the desperate boat chase after.

The last thing to flash through his mind was docking at an abandoned town with the Buggy the Clown bozos. The empty dock faded to white, and then a image of an orange haired girl popped into his vision for a couple of seconds. Questions burned in his mouth, never making it past his tongue. Who was she? What was her name? And why did Zoro have this unquenchable desire to seek her out? Then strangely, a citrus flavor overwhelmed his tongue.

"Mmm, tangerines." Luffy licked his lips, almost drooling from taste alone. Guess that means he saw the images to. Zoro stared at him, trying to separate the two Luffy's in his mind. Was this the Luffy kid, the weirdo who just appeared in his dojo that night, or was it Luffy, the pirate who Zoro swore his fealty to? It was too confusing. Zoro let out a long moan as he rubbed his abused head.

"Zoro!" Luffy hurried over, and crouched next to the swordsman. Was something wrong with his injury?! The kid had hit Zoro pretty hard.

Luffy's concern was waved aside as Zoro sat up straight. "What is going on?"

"Oh, about the pirate stuff?" Luffy sat down in front Zoro, crossing his legs and tilting his head.

"The pirate stuff, the weird images, and this whole," Zoro motioned at his own body. "...growing deal."

Luffy laughed. "That? I can't tell ya anything 'bout that. It's a mystery."

Zoro frowned. "Then I'm guessin' you can't tell me why they look so different from the bodies from the images?"

"Memories." Luffy corrected.

"Memories." Zoro tried out the word, surprised on how easy it slipped off his tongue. "Okay, so do you know why they're so different then? I mean, if they really were memories then the bodies should match up at least."

"Nope, no clue." Luffy shook his head.

So much for getting information. Zoro sighed. This was too strange. But it was too right. A part of his brain was complaining that Zoro probably should be freaking out more about this sudden development, yet the rest of his brain was completely comfortable with this new change.

He closed his eye, and let out a loud exhale. Then he opened it and stared directly into Luffy's eyes. "I really don't want to believe you. But I can't help it. It's impossible for me to not believe you. " Zoro said calmly. "Because it feels true. Not just true, but right. Normal. As normal as these three swords that are by my side."

Zoro glanced down, curious. Did his swords still feel the same? He picked up the white sword, Kuina's sword, and drew it from its sheath. The katana felt perfectly balanced in his hand, and a hint of excitement shot through Zoro. He twisted at his waist, wielding the sword out in front of him and away from Luffy. The sword felt so light, like it almost wasn't there. Without hesitation, Zoro slashed the air. He nearly died from the bliss. Kuina's sword cut just like from the memories, except better. Reverently, Zoro sheathed the katana.

He repeated the actions with the other two before he sighed and turned back to Luffy. "Do you truly believe this?"

Luffy nodded excitedly. He nearly bursted into a loud chatter, but somehow managed to forced his mouth shut, and the teen's cheeks expanded beyond normal capabilities as he kept the sound trapped.

Zoro smirked. Somehow that just seemed so Luffy. "Then I guess I have no choice but to uphold my vow. I'll join your crew once again, captain."

Luffy cheered, a beaming smile on his face. "I knew you would! Yosh, I have my first crew member back!"

The swordsman let the other celebrate for a second before he brought him back. "Okay, we got that part done. What now captain?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back to stare at the other teen.

"Well duh. We go find the girl."

"The girl?"

"Yeah. The girl at the end of the flashback. With the orange hair. She's important." Luffy explained, crossing his arms.

"I figured that she was. But how are we going to find her?"

"I don't know. But we need her."

Zoro sighed and leaned back. It wasn't worth the fight to figure it out. "Whatever you say Luffy. You're the captain."

Luffy smiled again, rubbing his hands together and giggling to himself. He was absolutely ecstatic. Every time Zoro called him captain it only added to his growing happiness. Finally, after ten years of the same dream over and over again, it finally happened. Luffy was a captain now.

Zoro abruptly stood, earrings jangling as he gathered his sword from the floor. "Let's go."

Luffy jumped up after him. The straw hat fell off Luffy's head, but a quick movement from Zoro stopped the hat from touching the ground. He silently handed the hat back to its owner.

"Oops." Luffy giggled as he jammed the hat back onto his head, still too happy to actually be upset. "Thanks Zoro."

Zoro nodded.

Luffy glanced at the unconscious bloody bodies of the two boys that laid a couple yards away. "Should we just leave them?"

Zoro shrugged. He honestly didn't give a crap about what happened to them. Both were far from innocent bystanders. "They won't bleed to death. They should be fine. Plus Sensei forgot to lock the storage room again and he has the keys, he should remember and come back soon."

"Okay."

The two pirated carefully trudged over the limp figures on the floor, making sure not to step in the blood puddles. Luffy reached the door first, pushing it open with his foot in a fit of childness. Zoro followed with a small huff. They sure were leaving a mess behind them. Sensei was certainly going to be surprised when he came back.

Couple feet outside Zoro paused. "Hold on a second." he turned around and stared at the building. It almost hurt to leave this place. It had been his home since he could remember, in both lives. This time around he didn't have Kuina as a rival, but it was still more of a home then the foster house. But he did it back then, he could do it here. Zoro gave the building a stiff bow, then he spun around. He hung his swords on his right side, wrapping the red sash around the sheaths. Luffy laughed, and Zoro half heartedly growled at him.

"Okay, let's go!" Luffy cheered.

Luffy and Zoro lifted a foot in sync, and they stumbled as their limbs suddenly became shorter.

"Huh!?" Kid Zoro skipped forward a couple steps as he regained his balance, wooden swords clanking against the cement with each jump. He was small again!

"We can't do it forever. Sad." Luffy said, fussing with his baseball cap for a moment.

Zoro examined his swords. They were wood again! Maybe they were only real metal when he was big. After all, Luffy's straw hat was a baseball cap before he grew. Zoro frowned and looked down at smaller self. He concentrated for a couple of seconds before growing. He looked at his hands, closely examining them. Hmm, there was something different about that transformation.

"How come we could control it this time?" Zoro asked as he looked down at Luffy "Turning back into a kid was out of our control, but we could control this time."

"Pirated!"

"Eh?"

"Let's call it pirated or pirating when we change. Cause we turn into pirates." Luffy demonstrated."And when we get little we can call it... it..." His face clouded as he thought.

"Shrinking?" Zoro suggested.

Luffy brightened "Yeah! Shrinking!"

Both of the teens shrank. Zoro examined his arms for a moment. This was still weird.

"So what now, Captain?" Zoro asked.

"Now we go look for tangerines."

"Tangerines? Why would we look for tangerines? I thought we were looking for the girl?"

Luffy shrugged. "They're special to her. If we find tangerines we find the girl."

Zoro closed his eyes and shook his head. Guess he'll have to roll with it. Luffy usually ended up right about this kind of stuff any... Wait. Did he really just think that?

 _Bang! Bang bang bang!_

Their heads shot up. Eyes wandering around the dark scene, taking in every shadow of the town carefully as the two boys huddled closer together on the sidewalk.

"Gunshots." Zoro muttered darkly, a hand reaching for the wooden katana's hilts. "Of course. The Government gave a warning about a dangerous gang passing through. Hey Luffy, let's go somewhere we won't be found. Just until morning, and then we can look for the girl."

Luffy nodded. "Sweet. I think I have a place."

He skipped back towards the direction his home. This was going to be awesome! It was like some sort of sleep-over! It took Luffy about ten seconds before he realized Zoro wasn't behind him. In fact Zoro was running in the opposite direction.

"Oi, Zoro! Where are you going?!"

Zoro froze and his cheeks lit up. "Your directions were confusing." He yelled.

Luffy tilted his head, confused. "Really? They didn't seem confusing to me. I didn't even say anything I just walked."

"Shut up!"

Zoro fumed as he followed close behind Luffy. He had honestly thought he was going on the right direction. It wasn't Zoro's fault that the buildings and Luffy all decided to move on him. They had never done that before! It left a sour taste in his mouth, and the sour leaked into his presence. It only took one glare from Zoro to freeze that dog who chased Luffy earlier, which Luffy was quick to comment on.

By the time they finally reached their destination, neither boy was out of breath. Which was really amazing, considering the distance they had to travel. Zoro had been surprised when Luffy had lead him to the nicer part of town, and he definitely wasn't expecting to stop at an ivy-covered wall at the bottom of a straight road. Mansions covered the other sides of the road, and Zoro had to wonder if Luffy took them to the wrong side of town. He was even more surprised when Luffy hopped straight over it, and when Zoro followed he discovered that an abandoned mansion rested inside the grounds.

Luffy made a quick dash to an old rusty car, and Zoro followed close behind.

"What is this place?" Zoro asked. He stared at the empty house in amazement. How could anyone just leave a house that size? The thought boggled him.

Luffy shrugged. "Don't know. It's been like this forever."

Luffy forced the car door open and climbed inside first. He sat in the driver's seat, which forced Zoro climb over him so he could get to the passenger seat. Zoro plopped into the seat with a small glare. Luffy ignored him and sat back against the seat.

"I've been pretending this is my temporary pirate ship." Luffy said after a couple seconds of uncharacteristic silence. "You know, the one you're rowing in the memories."

"Huh. Does this thing move?" Zoro rubbed his hands on the seat, trying to feel the texture. The fabric came apart, leaving flakes all over his palms. Zoro sweat-dropped. It wasn't that hard to imagine this crappy car as the same dingy boat.

"Never tried." Luffy grinned.

"How come?"

"Cause the keys aren't in the hole." the other boy pointed out. Zoro leaned forward, and confirmed the absence of the keys in the ignition with his own eyes. Hm. Well, that was a problem wasn't it.

"Maybe they're inside the house? We can go and see."

Luffy looked up, sparkles in his eyes. "An adventure! A Explore-the-House-Adventure! Let's go!" Luffy kicked the door open and scrambled outside without hesitation.

 **A/N: Sorry for the weird** **format** **thing with this chapter. I get nervous looking at the chapters and I don't like to look at them once they've been posted. So thank you** ** _HiHelloIWeird, Push23, oOLinneyOo,_** **and** ** _SwordOfTheGods_** **for telling me because I never would have noticed. Thank you guys!**


	6. Starting the Adventure!

_**Starting the Adventure!**_

"Wait!" Zoro hurried after Luffy. The stupid idiot was going to get himself killed! "What if there are gangs hiding in there?!"

"There won't be. A really strong police officer lives next door." Luffy pointed at the mansion. "I've heard him yelling. He's really loud. That's how I know he's strong."

"You can't judge strength based off how loud they are!" Zoro exclaimed, feeling oddly aggravated. "My sensei is quiet but he is really strong."

"I know." Luffy took off to the crooked front door. Zoro growled and followed him. Somehow Luffy managed to wiggle through the rotten door in seconds it took for Zoro to reach the door. He managed to catch a glimpse of Luffy's feet as the green haired boy shoved himself through the rotten wood. Finally Zoro pushed himself through with an exasperated huff. The inside of the house was just as bad as the outside. Holes, ivy, and moss layered everything in sight. What a waste of a mansion.

"Okay. If I were car keys, where would I hide?" Luffy pondered as he stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"In some drawers probably." Zoro grunted, coming up from behind.

"Like where the kitchen is?! The kitchen where they have meat!" Luffy's eyes turned to sparkles. Meat! Luffy took off like a rocket.

"Wait!" Zoro lunged and managed to grasp Luffy's shirt collar as took off. Usually this method was successful in getting people to stop moving. Only, this didn't stop Luffy. In fact, it didn't faze him at all, and Luffy plowed forward with the determination of a angry bull.

This caused a little problem for Zoro. Seeing as Luffy moved at an impossible speed, and Zoro's grip refused to falter even when he was knocked off his feet. Luffy zoomed down the decrepit halls, letting Zoro wave behind him like a terrified living flag. His three wood swords occasionally smacked the ground, and Zoro painfully slammed into the wall every time Luffy rounded a corner.

When Luffy finally skidded to a stop Zoro dropped to the ground like a stone. He laid on the floor, his arms and legs spread haphazardly. "Don't.. *Wheeze* ever...*gasp* do that...*cough* again." He wheezed.

"Meeeeeaaaaat!" Luffy spread his arms, triumphantly took in the whole kitchen. It was large, with a lot of counter space. There was an island in the middle of the kitchen, and a large table rested nearby. Any paint had long faded away, and green from the ivy was the most dominant color.

Zoro sat up and groaned at the sight. He didn't know a kitchen could have this many drawers! And the keys might not even be here. The owners could have taken it with them.

Luffy ignored him and burst into the pantry. There was a couple seconds of silence, then "Huuuuuuuuhh!? All the meat is gone! I'm gonna beat up the person who did this!"

Zoro stomped into the pantry and grabbed Luffy's shirt collar. Luffy didn't protest as Zoro roughly dragged him from out of the pantry. He only glared at the empty shelves and gave an aggravated snort. The person who ate all the meat was going to pay big time!

"Start looking for the keys." Zoro ordered, and he pulled the angered Luffy in front of a drawer. Luffy opened it and started to dig through the drawer with a mad expression permanently set as his features.

"You don't have to look so angry!" Zoro yelled, and smacked the side of Luffy's head. Luffy took the blow with no reaction, and Zoro sighed. "Besides, any meat would have been long gone."

"What!" Luffy's face grew twice as outraged, and he sent a deadly glare at the pantry while his hands continuously searched the drawer.

"Oh!" Luffy hands stilled, and his face went from angry to happy.

"Did you find the keys?" Zoro asked. Dang, that was quick. Maybe Luffy really did have some potential.

Luffy grinned and pulled out a telescope. "Ah sweet a telescope! I've been wanting one!"

Zoro smacked Luffy's head again. This time Luffy flinched and dropped the instrument back into the drawer.

"You keep looking through these drawers while I look on the other side." Zoro said. He walked to the opposite end of the kitchen, pulled open a drawer and sifted through it. There was a lot of small metal things, which was really annoying. A couple minutes passed with the two clanking through the drawers before Zoro grinned triumphantly and pulled a single out of his drawer. "Hey Luffy, I found a key. Want to go try it out?"

He turned to face Luffy.

"What the heck!" he yelped and jumped back a foot. A giant pile of keys on the floor laid behind Luffy, at least three feet high. Zoro watched as Luffy, bored, tossed another key into the group without a glance.

"I think that's enough keys." Zoro sweat dropped.

Luffy was alive in an instant. Finally, the boring searching was over! The adventure could begin! "Yay! Yay! Let's go try them out!" Luffy pirated and wrapped his arms around the pile. Instead of staying in a clump as he expected, the pile slipped through his arms and scattered onto the floor.

"Awww." Luffy pulled straw hat on his head, disappointment evident in his tone. "What happened?"

"Idiot! Did you really think it would stay together!? Take off your shirt, we'll use it to hold the keys." Zoro bent over and started to sweep up the keys into a pile once more. Luffy shrugged off his shirt and placed it on the ground. He and Zoro placed the keys in the center of the shirt as they picked them up. Soon, the giant pile reformed back on the cloth. Once no more keys could be found, Zoro carefully examined the pile. He frowned as he noticed a future problem. The keys would just slide right out if they left the sleeves open. "Pick it up. I'll hold the sleeves so nothing falls out."

Zoro latched onto the sleeves, and Luffy very carefully tossed it over his shoulder. "Let's get going!" Luffy started to walk at a fast pace. Oooo, he was getting so excited! Luffy couldn't wait to get to the car!

"Oi oi oi I can't see!" Zoro complained. He shuffled to the side, and he still couldn't see anything past his captain's body.

"That's okay. I'll lead you just like a captain." Luffy grinned and laughed.

Somehow, Luffy successfully lead them outside and to the rusty old car without getting lost. Zoro let go of the sleeves and Luffy dumped the keys on the passenger side's floor inside the car. The keys spilled outwards, nearly taking up the entire foot-space.

"That's a lot of keys." Zoro commented. Then he added. "Who even needs this many keys anyways?"

Luffy slipped his shirt back on while Zoro tried the first key. The key was too blocky, and didn't even fit in the ignition.

"No." Zoro tossed it over his shoulder. He didn't care about where the key landed, and Luffy didn't seem to mind either, so he tossed the next failure as well. And the next one after that. And the one after that as well. And all the ones that came after. He tossed keys for what felt like a long time.

A really long time. Like five whole minutes long.

Luffy couldn't take it anymore. They were taking forever! "Zoooorooo. I'm bored!" He groaned, laying limply across the backseat of the car.

"Not my problem," Zoro grunted. "Figure something out yourself."

"Hm!" Luffy stuck out his lip. "Fine!"

He glanced around. There had to be something for Luffy to do. His face turned bright red as he thought really hard. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Aha! He could practice pirating!

So Luffy began. The transformations may have been quiet but Luffy certainly wasn't. He chatted away, and talked about everything yet nothing at the same time. Usually Zoro would have yelled at him to shut up, but the talking was a welcome distraction from the dull task of trying out keys.

This went on until morning. Gushots echoed constantly in in the background. Each time the two boys would pause what they were doing, and stare. There was always a chance that the gang decided to come their direction. But the gunshots only became quieter, and faded away completely by the time the sun rose the next morning.

Zoro yawned, a large eye-watering yawn that Luffy copied in seconds. He tiredly glared at the sun, and slightly swayed on his feet. None of those stupids keys worked. The thought sent a rush of anger run over his body. This whole deal was was going to go with a stranger to go find another stranger in a old car that looked really to break down any second. And Zoro was trying to find the key so that all could happen. Who needed this many freakin keys for one house?! The giant key pile wasn't even dented, and Zoro had been trying all night.

Grumbling, Zoro picked up a key and slid in into the slot. It took him a couple moments to realize that it actually went into the ignition. He stared in surprise. Keys had clicked before but have yet to twist. Each time they had gotten his hopes up for nothing. If this wasn't the stupid key then Zoro was going to snap it in half.

"What's up?" A young Luffy stuck his head over the back seat to look at his companion, curiosity written all over his face.

"It fits." Zoro twisted it. The key moved. "And it turns in the keyhole."

Zoro gave the key another push. It clicked into place once more. Zoro broke into a huge grin, tiredness forgotten. "It works Luffy! This is our key!"

"Yes!" Luffy slid over the back and into the passenger seat. "What are we waiting for! Let's get goin'!"

 _Crash!_

"What the," Luffy jumped up in his seat. He peered through the windshield. "What was that!?"

Zoro ducked down. He scooted down to the front of the car, and cautiously peeked his head over the hood. Instantly he jerked his head behind the car and came scuttling back. "It's a police officer, he jumped over the wall!"

Luffy immediately crouched. They couldn't be caught now! He'd get sent back to Gramps! Luffy snatched the car key from the ignition, and stuck it in his pocket. Then he slid out of the vehicle, and landed quietly besides Zoro.

"What are you doing?!" Zoro whispered.

"If he finds us, he'll take the car!" Luffy spoke quietly. He darted towards the nearest overgrown bush. "We can't let that happen."

"Don't forget the part about possibly getting arrested!" The child swordsman scrambled after the other boy.

The two mini-pirates slid into the bush. It wasn't fun. Branches grabbed his practice swords, and Zoro had to continually jerked them out. Even when they stopped and turned around, Zoro had a branch poking into his stomach. He ignored it as he took another look at the police officer. "Crap! It's Axe-Hand Morgan!"

Luffy stuck his head out the bush. "Onion Hair's dad? But didn't we already beat the crap out of him?"

"Yeah, in the memories as teenagers. We've done nothin' to him in this one." Zoro pointed out.

Luffy squinted at the hulking mass, his giant hands clenched around something small. "What's his weapon? It looks really small to be an axe hand."

"It's Axe Body Spray."

Luffy burst into a smile. His face turned bright red as he tried to hold in laughter, and one of his hands came to slap down on his thigh.

"Oi, oi, oi, don't laugh! I know it's silly but that's some fearsome stuff. He traps you in a contained area and sprays the Axe until you're knocked out from the smell. People have died. I've seen him take out entire gangs with that stuff."

"How didya' see that?" Luffy asked, and shoved his laughter down to giggles. He couldn't laugh while they talked about fighting. This was serious after all. "Did you fight him already?"

"No. He's the town's resident officer and is constantly on the prowl for gangs to beat up. I happened to walk by once while he was taking care of some. We live in the same town, how do you not know this?" Zoro glanced at Luffy with a raised eyebrow.

"That sounds like a terrible weapon." Luffy nodded, and completely ignored the question. Zoro sweat-dropped. This guy was an idiot.

As Luffy spoke Morgan turned and examined the car. Ivy that had grown over the car snapped as he forced the hood open. None to gently, he slammed it back down. Grabbing the underside Morgan lifted the side of the car upwards, until both of the right side wheels in the air. More overgrown ivy snapped, and keys scattered against the floor. Oh crap. The stupid keys were going to give them away! Dropping the car, Morgan bent down to investigate the sound.

Luffy huffed angrily, and Zoro knew he had about two seconds to grab him before Luffy busted out of the bush. He didn't hesitate, and wrapped an arm around Luffy's waist, while another to cover the other boy's mouth.

"What are you doing!?" Zoro demanded.

"That's our car!" Luffy whispered harshly around the hand. "He's gonna take it!"

"Rather that then us. We could always get another car." Zoro reasoned.

"No. That's our car. That's the car that will lead us to the girl. I can tell."

Luffy was dead serious, Zoro could see that. He put his hand on his face. There was no use trying to deal with the idiot. He let go of Luffy to rub his face, exasperated. "Fine, fine. We'll get the stinkin' car."

Luffy grinned, but then grimaced as a smell hit his nose. Beside him, Zoro made the same face. Then he stiffened. Something was… off. Zoro glanced around. There was this white mist everywhere. It was barely starting to penetrate the bushes where they were sitting.

"Ugh." Luffy took a deep whiff of the stuff. It smelt terrible! Disgusted, he stuck out his tongue. Quickly his face morphed into horror. "Ew, ew, ew! Mistake! Now I can taste it!"

Water started to come from their eyes, and the back of their throats began to burn as the mist thickened. Not that Luffy noticed. He desperately scratched his tongue as he tried to get the smell off. Zoro let out a cough, and covered his mouth with a hand. He recognized that burning smell. It was Axe! Morgan knew they were there!

A huge hand shot forward and grabbed the back of Zoro's shirt. It jerked Zoro above the body spray mist, and he let out a relieved breath. He could breath!

"Hey!" Luffy protested as he dangled besides Zoro in another hand. He twisted to see the owner of the hands.

A tanned head with blond hair glared angrily back. "So you're the two kids who offended me." Morgan eyed them. Both boys gulped.

"But we've ne-never met before." Luffy stammered. He looked to sides, and refused to meet Morgan's eyes while he puckered his lips like he was whistling. Zoro gaped in disbelief. That was the absolute worst lying he'd ever seen.

Morgan stared for a moment, then shook Luffy viciously. Luffy let out a small yip of surprise.

"That's a lie. I remember seeing this green-haired brat a couple of times from a distance." Morgan held Zoro up to his face and leered at him. "And as for the offense, you attacked Helmeppo."

"What?" Zoro scoffed. That was it? "We never touched Onion Hair. He ran away before I could beat him into a pulp."

"And I wouldn't care if you took his life. He's a idiot not even worth hitting. But the fact remains that Helmeppo represents me in this town. When you attack him I consider it an attack on me." Morgan pointed at himself with those last words.

Luffy blinked, then coughed. Zoro frowned. Both stared at the police officer with blank expressions. There was a couple moments of silence.

"DO YOU NOT CARE!?" Morgan yelled.

"Not really." Luffy yawned. Immediately his eyes watered and he started spitting. The stupid spray got in his mouth!

"Besides, that doesn't really make sense. You hate your son, but'll attack his attackers. It's not reasonable." Zoro pointed out.

Morgan's hands trembled. Luffy perked up. Maybe Morgan realized something and was about to let them go! That was good, cause him and Zoro still needed to find the rest of their crew.

"Shut up!" Morgan cried, and tossed Zoro into the thickest part of the Axe body spray mist.

"Zoro!" Luffy shrieked. He jerked in Morgan's hand. He had to save Zoro! "That will kill him!"

Morgan grunted. He eyed the small mist hill that covered the brat. "That's the point."

Luffy strained his eyes. Zoro couldn't die! He was his swordsman! He was his first crewmate, and Luffy couldn't let him die here! The very thought of Zoro dying just felt so wrong. After a couple seconds Luffy started yelling Zoro's name.

"Give up," Morgan commanded. "No one can survive my Axe Spray attack except me, making me the greatest person!"

Luffy squirmed again. No! He refused to accept it! Luffy cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted one more time. "Zoro, you idiot, get up!"

A tense moment passed, and then spray hill shivered, and Zoro erupted from it. "Don't * _cough_ * insult me dang it! * _cough_ * You're the * _cough_ * real idiot!" he covered his mouth as his lungs cleared themselves out.

"Impossible! He survived!" Morgan gasped. There could only be one greatest person in the world! And it was Officer Morgan! What could he do!? Morgan's eyes lit up as a idea hit him. He would have to do what he always did then. "That means I have to kill you."

Morgan promptly dropped the other brat to the ground, and forgot about him as he advanced on the coughing green-haired brat.

"Axe-Hand Morgan has two meanings." Morgan opened a small pouch on his waist, and dug something small out. "There is my famous Axe Body Spray, but then there is also this!"

 _ **A/N: Hey guys, here's another chapter for you. I want to thank all of you again for telling me about the weirdness with the last chapter. If you didn't see, I re-uploaded it, and it is fine now. So if you missed it, go back and read. This chapter shouldn't have any problems, but feel free to tell me if it does. I have to say though, I really feel like Morgan is suuuperrr badly written in this chapter. I'm sorry about that. Hopefully my editing made him better. We hardly knew Morgan, and heaven knows we barely paid any attention to him when he was around, so I hope I can be**_ _ **forgiven for his crappy character**_ _ **. Anyways, thanks for reading!**_


	7. Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan

_**Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan**_

Morgan held out his hand. There was a small metal ball resting on his palm. Zoro cocked his head as he coughed, curiosity rearing its head inside him. The small ball wasn't exactly awe-inspiring. Looked like a metal marble with an axe and the Marine symbol carved into the surface. Strange, yes, but not really a terrifying weapon. Was all the body spray was finally getting to Morgan's head?

Morgan grunted and concentrated all of his focus onto the small ball. After a couple seconds the ball melted into a pile of liquid metal. Luffy's and Zoro's jaw dropped. Part of the liquid metal traveled up Morgan's arm. When the metal reached his bottom jaw it it shifted and grew, until it completely covered his jaw. The rest of the metal stayed in his right hand, where it shifted and morphed, stretched and compressed, until the final results were revealed. His hand was gone, replaced by an large axe head.

Morgan grinned, and pointed his axe-hand at the stunned Zoro. "It's a recent discovery, a testament to my greatness. The little ball quite literally gives me an axe hand. I've never tried it out on anyone before, been saving it for a special type of fool that needs to be pounded into the ground a little harder than others. And you, brat, have long since passed that. Now both you and your little friend must die, for the cause of angering me."

He took an intimidating step towards Zoro. The brat rasped a soft growl but flinched back. Excitement flooded over Morgan. This was going to be great. Not as great as he was, but close. He was going to rip the green haired brat's limbs off, starting with his legs so he couldn't run, and then make him watch as Morgan tortured the other brat with the stupid hat. They both needed a lesson to show who was the greatest. And once he was bored, he'd chop off both of their heads.

Morgan took another step, only to grunt when something wrapped around his legs and stopped them from moving. Unprepared for the sudden restraint, he lost his balance and tumbled into the ground face-first. The mist blew away by the wind of his fall, but it quickly reclaimed the lost territory.

"It worked!" Luffy cheered as he sat up from under the mist, the spray dissipating on the straw hat as he emerged. His long rubbery arms disappeared into the mist, and Zoro could only guess where they went. Luffy made a funny face, then belched out some of the mist. He stared at it nonchalantly, as if that almost poison wasn't just barely in his body, and more like a kid would observe a passing cloud.

Zoro stared. What in the-? The spray was inside him, Luffy should be practically dead, if not catatonic! "How are you * _cough_ * not dead?"

Luffy twisted his head to look at Zoro in a way that was distinctly 'not normal' and shrugged. "Don't know. I was choking, so I pirated and was fine."

"What, * _cough_ * are you immune to poison or something?" Zoro asked as he got to his feet. Thankfully the mist only came up to his waist when he stood. Luffy shrugged again, his nonchalance obvious on his face.

"WHO DID THAT!" Morgan lurched upwards out of the smog. The man was breathing heavily, and he had nasty glare on his face.

Zoro and Luffy both looked at Morgan, unimpressed. He was still up? How bothersome. Now they'd have to deal with the annoyance. Oh well, at least they would get a fight out of it.

Morgan glared down at his legs. He waved the mist away with his axe-hand to reveal two strange flesh colored cords wrapped around his legs. How dare they! Have the cords realized what they've done?! They interrupted a great officer in his work! Angry, Morgan slashed one with his axe-hand. To his surprise, the cord didn't cut, and blood seeped out of the thin slash instead.

"Ow!" Luffy gasped and unwound his arms from the man. They snapped back into place, and Luffy examined the small cut on his lower arm with tears in his eyes. "That hurt you jerk!"

Morgan blinked in surprise. The brat had weird powers as well. But of course, it was inferior to his. "So you have one of those balls too." he stated.

"Balls?" Zoro shifted his stance into a crouch, and a hand slipped down to grasp the handle of his wooden katanas. "Like that one you had in your hand?"

"Yes. It lets me become even greater than I was before. I don't know why you have one brat, but..." Morgan stood up, his eyes now locked onto the teen.

"I am the greatest!" he shouted, holding his arms to the sky as he proudly declared his rank to the world.

"Oh ya?" Luffy folded his arms and tilted his hat so it covered his eyes. Then he grinned. "Well, we're PIRATES!"

Morgan barely turned in time to block Zoro's sword. Somewhere in his brain it registered that the green haired brat was bigger and had actual swords, but it was overwhelmed by the part screaming to prove he was the greatest. Morgan tried to match the menacing glare that the brat delivered, but failed to even compare miserably. Once he realized this, Morgan sneered and threw his arm out, which sent the green haired brat flying back.

In theory. Actually, all that happened was that Morgan started push. Then his arms began to strain. After a couple seconds his face turned red while sweat began to develop. Then the shaking started.

"Impossible! I'm too great!" Morgan gasped. He couldn't move his arm! This had never happened in the twenty years he'd been alive! Everybody always crumbled under his mighty fist! But the green haired brat's arm hadn't slipped even in the slightest. It was like Morgan was trying to push a mountain, and he was failing miserably.

Angered, Morgan let out a roar and put all his weight behind his blow. Impossibly, the puny sword didn't falter for even a split second against his mighty axe.

Suddenly rubber arms wrapped around Morgan's limbs. The long arms pinned the officer's arms to his sides, and stretchy legs wrapped around the man's waist. In seconds, Morgan was efficiently immobilize. Luffy grinned at the back of the officer's head as the man struggled to move. "Good luck gettin' out. I got you trapped. Now watch this! Gomu Gomu no..."

"What in the?" Zoro dropped out of his stance to stare at his friend quizzically. "What are you doing?"

Luffy leaned forward and then tossed his head back, his hat tumbling off his head but hanging around his neck by the string. His head stretched impossibly far back, and the top of his hair grazed the mansion walls. For a moment his neck stayed stretched, then Luffy grinned, and his head came shooting forward.

"...Bell!"

His forehead cracked painfully against the back of Morgan's head. The sound echoed for a good five seconds as Morgan's eyes went white as he barely held onto consciousness. The officer staggered like a drunk man, disoriented but still standing.

"Let go of him Luffy!" Zoro warned. Luffy nodded and unwound his limbs, throwing himself to the side. Zoro charged forward a single step before he vanished, only to reappear on the other side of Morgan in that same pose he'd used on the two boys. What did he call it again? Oh yeah. His Onigiri pose. Briefly, memories of the hours spent perfecting that move flashed in front of his eye, but Zoro pushed them aside.

Morgan coughed. Zoro kept his back to him. After all, there was no need to look at a dead man. He pulled the white sword out of his mouth and sheathed it in one quick movement, before he slowly returned the other two swords to their sheathes.

The moment the last katana clicked into place Morgan shuddered. The giant man's legs gave up underneath him and he collapsed, blood streaming from the three long slash wounds on his chest. The ground shook under his weight, and the mist was pushed back for a second. The axe hand shattered into pieces to reveal a perfectly normal hand underneath, and the metal jaw followed its example quickly after.

"Wow!" Luffy walked up to Morgan and crouched over the limp body. "Nice one, Zoro."

"Thanks." Zoro grunted.

Luffy poked Morgan's face. "Is he alive?"

"Stop poking him!" Zoro growled and smacked Luffy's hand.

Luffy didn't notice, something else caught his attention. If his older body's hearing hadn't been so good, Zoro doubted he would have caught it either. it was a loud gasp. Then grass being crushed in a fast, two second pattern. Like someone was _running_ on the other side of the wall. The sound of grass being crunched became wood being stepped on, and a door slid open. Windows slid open, and and the chatter of people spreading the word of a fight in the abandoned lot next door. There were more footsteps as the people inside ran around, spreading the news even further.

"Crap." Zoro muttered. A witness. Hopefully they didn't see the entire fight, or else there would be some really awkward explaining in the future. Somebody in the mansion next door was bound to call the authorities. Best to be gone by the time the officers arrived.

Zoro hurried to the back of the car and braced his shoulders against the trunk before he shoved forward with his legs. The old wheels resisted for a moment, having been long rusted in the same position, before they gave in with a loud complaint. They squealed terribly for one rotation then silently adjusted to movement once more. The rest of the ivy that remained on the car snapped long before Zoro pushed the car to the remains of the mansion driveway.

Luffy looked at the roof of the mansion next door, barely visible over the wall. He raised one hand to shade his eyes. "The maids are such gossips." He tutted.

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted, drawing Luffy from his thoughts. .

"What?"

"The car has no gas. I'm goin' to look if the garage has some. You stay and watch in case somebody shows up."

Luffy stared. For some reason, letting Zoro go off on his own seemed like a terrible idea. Luffy turned and headed towards the mansion without a word.

"What are you doing!? I said I would go in!" Zoro yelled. Was Luffy deaf or something?

"If you go in you'll never come out." Luffy said calmly, like he was stating an obvious fact.

"What!" Zoro's teeth sharpened as he glared. Luffy completely ignored him and ran inside.

It took only a couple of seconds for Luffy to find the garage. Mostly because instead of running inside the house and finding the garage from in there, Luffy went with the more simple method of breaking through the garage door with a single punch. A couple more seconds were spent to grab the gas cans, and Luffy raced out of the hole with four cans under his rubbery arms.

"Hurry!" Zoro yelled from halfway down the driveway. "All the sounds from next door just stopped."

Luffy scrambled and plopped the cans next to the car. After a couple seconds he located the gas tank and flipped the lid open. He easier lifted the canister and unscrewed the lid, tilting the pipe into the tank. The four gas cans seemed to take eternity to drain their contents. It was taking too long! Finally the last can let out a gurgle. Immediately the pirates jumped into action.

Luffy dropped the can where he stood. He ran to the front of the car and climbed into the driver's seat while Zoro sat shotgun.

"Can you drive?" the swordsman asked as Luffy settled into the seat and grabbed the wheel. Luffy grabbed the keys from his pocket and shoved them into the ignition and started the car. It let out a rough grumbled as the engine labored to power up, then roared loudly as it kicked on.

"Are you crazy? Course not. I'm ten." Luffy answered, giving Zoro a questioning look.

"I think we are both older than ten right now, but it's no surprise you can't drive. Should have known." Zoro muttered to Luffy, but mostly to himself.

"Then why did you ask?" Luffy eyed with the clutch. He was pretty sure the giant 'D' stood for Monkey D. Luffy, meaning that was where the stick thing needed to be. He grabbed the stick, but was distracted by Zoro shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know, they say it in the movies all the time." Zoro stated. He eyed the outside world, and once his gaze hit the front window it sharpened.

"Dang it! The wall!" Zoro hopped out the car, already drawing the white sword. "Its blocking the way out!"

"What?" Luffy looked up. Completely distracted, his hand pushed the stick forward into the 'D' section. Rusty gears groaned and unstuck. The car started to roll forward.

"Oh!" Luffy looked around as the scene began to slowly slide. He hadn't meant for that to happen. "The car is moving!"

"Stop it then!" Zoro yelled.

"Don't know how." Luffy shrugged unhelpfully. "I've never really been to the movies."

Growling, Zoro faced the wall. He'd get after Luffy later, right now Zoro needed to take care of their other problem. Getting out of here. He faced the wall and held up the white sword. He had a feeling this wasn't the sword he typically used for Ittoyru, but it was the only sword Zoro actually recognized and felt comfortable using.

Zoro took a deep breath. He needed to concentrate. He closed his eye, took another breath, and then slashed the katana three times.

A triangle appeared in the wall, the base lined smoothly with the floor and the sides were perfectly straight. The dislodged part slid out of the wall with a chilling screech. Good. Zoro nodded, impressed. The sword was really sharp. His older self knew how to keep the swords in good condition.

He eyed the hole. It was nicely sized, the car could scrape through without any major scrapes. Zoro glanced at the car and made some small calculations. If it was going to continue at the rate the car would... Zoro let out a small huff. If the car continued on its direction, it was going to miss the hole entirely and smack against the wall to directly to the left. Tsk, what an annoyance. Nothing was ever easy with Luffy around.

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled. "You're gonna crash! Use the steering wheel to go through the hole."

Luffy popped his head out the window. "How?!"

"I don't know! Just make sure the steering wheel makes it through the hole or something!"

"Like this?" Luffy chucked the steering wheel at the hole.

Zoro froze. His jaw dropped down as he stared in shock. That really just happened. Luffy really just removed the steering from the car! The idiot!

Slowly, Luffy began to realize what he'd done. "Oops. I made a mistake didn't I?" Luffy rubbed the back of his head as the car moved closer.

"YOU IDIOT!" Zoro roared. He sheathed his sword before running to the side of the advancing car. He managed to latch onto the hood. Cold metal and ivy plants dug into his palms. Growling and snarling curses about his useless captain, Zoro planted his feet into the ground and shoved the front of the car to the right.

The hood of the car barely skimmed the edge of the hole. Half a second later and they wouldn't have made it. Zoro could have sworn he saw sparks as the metal rubbed against the rock. The side mirror on the driver's side was torn off, but it was a worthy sacrifice.

And of course, his idiot captain was sitting there in the front seat, grinning, even as the taillights of the car scraped past the rock wall.

Zoro smirked and crossed his arms as he watched the car rumble down the rest of the decayed driveway. Good, they made it out. He stared for a couple seconds more, satisfied with himself as the car began to drive further away. Wait…. Drive away?

Zoro gasped. Wait a minute! He wasn't in the car! "Luffy you idiot wait for me!" Zoro raced down the driveway, quickly catching up to the small vehicle halfway down. He jerked on the passenger door handle, and when it didn't move pounded on door. "Unlock the car!"

Luffy gave him a blank stare. Zoro unapologetically began to at curse his captain as the car went farther down the driveway. Finally Luffy seemed to get the message and he scrambled with the controls on the door. Something clicked, and Zoro tugged on the handle. The door flew open, almost knocking into his legs, but he managed to crawl around it into the passenger seat. Panting, Zoro silently shrunk back to a kid before collapsing. He wasn't physically exhausted (in fact, he hadn't even broken a sweat), but that had been terribly mentally depleting.

"Shishishishishishi! That was fun, let's do it again sometime! " Luffy laughed, glancing at the tired boy splayed all over the neighboring seat.

"Shut... up." Zoro growled.

Luffy stuck his head out the window, not noticing when the car slightly bumped as the wheels switched from the driveway to the road. He stared intently at the shrinking hole behind them. "Probably should grab the steering wheel." he thought out loud.

"You think?" Zoro deadpanned.

Luffy turned completely around in the seat. He pulled his fist back and then shot it forward through the hole. It snapped back with the steering wheel firmly in his rubbery grip. He probably would have taken out the side mirror with the rebound if it wasn't already gone.

"Got it!" Luffy turned forward, grinning happily as he held the steering wheel.

Just as they reached the end of the road, a roar sounded from behind them. "Bwahahahahahahahaha!"

"It's the super strong officer!" Luffy cried. Without thinking, he slammed on the smaller pedal stuck on the floor. The engine let out a loud scream from years of disuse, and then shot forward.

"Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Luffy's eyes sparkled as he screamed in fear. The car took an unexpected sharp turn- thankfully at an actual turn in the road -and headed down the length of the new street. The steering wheel bounced uselessly in Luffy's grip as the car speed along. Zoro hung onto the back of his seat for dear life, participating in the same vocal activity as Luffy.

Zoro twisted in his seat to look behind them, curious to see if he could catch a glance of the officer. All he saw was a flash of white that probably was the officer man standing in front of the hole. He could barely tell, but the guy seemed like he'd be really strong. Maybe Zoro would get the chance to clash with him someday.

In seconds the street was far behind them. Luffy still had the sparkle eyes as they left the town. Miraculously, they managed to not hit anything on their way out. Zoro had never feared for his life more than during that terrifying ride. Not even almost being executed could compare. Especially when their speed did not decrease as they entered the barren land in between towns.

Zoro peeled his fingers off the seat. Ten crescent shaped imprints greeted him, probably forever imprinted into the fabric. He sweat dropped, then stared at the outside scenery. It was all just a giant dirt colored blur. They were going really fast. "Hey Luffy, take your foot of the gas will ya?"

"What are you talking about?"

Zoro frowned. What did he mean by 'what are you talking about'? He turned to Luffy, ready to complain. Instead, his eyes widen and he gasped in surprise. The Future Pirate King was sitting cross-legged on the seat, his sandal clad feet nowhere near the gas pedal and the steering wheel rested in his lap.

"The weird plastic thing is stuck. It won't move. Same with the other one." Luffy reached down and tugged on the other pedal.

With a loud crack, the larger pedal separated from the floor. Zoro froze, tears streaming from his face as he stared at the detached brakes. Luffy held the pedal up in his hand, stared at the broken stick in the floor, then watched as their speed increased to a even more terrifying level.

"Ahh. Looks like we're speeding out of control. It's such a pretty day as well." He commented calmly.

"Shut up!" Zoro ripped the steering wheel from Luffy's lap and slammed it onto the empty post. He briefly lost his balance as the wheel unexpectedly slipped, jerking the car to the left, throwing them into thankfully empty opposite traffic lane. After another short scream session, Zoro tugged them back into the right lane.

He fell back into his own seat, but continued to hang onto the steering wheel, leaving him awkwardly hanging across of Luffy. Eventually his breaths slowed down to a more calm rate.

"Woah. That was easy." Luffy shrunk into his smaller body.

"You didn't do anything!" Zoro's teeth sharpened as he yelled at Luffy. As usual, Luffy just grinned back.

"Tsk!" Zoro grunted. A couple minutes passed before he spoke up again.

"Oi Luffy, switch me spots. This position is awkward."

"No."

"What!?"

"This is my special seat. No one takes my special seat." Luffy crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks as he spoke.

"Ugh. Fine." Zoro rolled his eyes. Being comfortable wasn't worth the fight. He glanced out the window. Just how fast were they going? Zoro checked the speedometer, and to no surprise, the needle was hanging out around the zero. Great, it was broken. Sighing, Zoro looked out the window again and tried to judge their speed by eye.

"Huh." He said. "My guess is if we jump out at the speed were going we'd probably die."

Luffy released the air held in his cheeks, and leaned forward in curiosity. "Really? What if we pirated and hopped out?"

Zoro shook his head. "I'd rather not test out the limit of our older bodies like that. We'd could get seriously hurt."

Luffy nodded. "Maybe. But we could also maybe live."

They sat like that, unconcerned for their lives, as they broke every speed limit with barely any control of their vehicle, for hours. And to make it worse, their speed continued to increase. Towns were a blink-and-you-miss situation. They lost count of how many they passed through after they hit double digits. Destruction usually fell in their wake as they zoomed by, as cars and people swerved out of their way. Surprisingly, no one was hit by the little rusty old car. The other cars were hit by fellow cars trying to avoid the runaway vehicle.

It was in the middle of the desert-y nowhere when Luffy felt a difference in their speed.

"Yo, Zoro." Luffy shook the other boy- who somehow managed to fall asleep in his awkward position -awake.

"Wha?" Zoro yawned and almost started to stretch, then sat up alert as he too noticed their speed. "We're slowing down. Must be out of gas."

Luffy nodded. "Plus there is that weird place." He pointed at a large lump that was approaching on the horizon.

Zoro squinted at the lump. He could barely tell, but they kind of looked like- "Is that... trees?"

That's odd. Usually stuff didn't grow in between towns. It had something to do with the climate, Zoro knew. Where the climate was good and stable people came and built towns and civilizations. They called them climate islands, and each was individually unique from one another. No one could figure out how they worked- something about the metal underneath the land that stabilized the climate -,but they did, and that was all Zoro needed to know. But out here where the barren lands where the climate was dry, hot, and viciously unstable it was nearly impossible to live, much less have trees. They must have found a mini-climate place.

"What are trees doing out here? They must be really tough! Let's go check it out!" Luffy grinned and started clapping his hands over his head. He was so pumped! The strange tugging feeling was back, and it definately wanted him to explore the tree place.

"Only if we stop at it. You said this car would take us to the girl. We should stick with it." Zoro reminded his friend. Even as he spoke, Zoro frowned. Something in the back of his mind was urging him to stop there. It almost felt like a tug, and it got stronger as the tree place got closer.

And as if responding to a queue, the car shuddered, let out several sharp coughs, and visibly slowed down.

Luffy laughed and increased his clapping. He knew it! They were going to the trees! Luffy clapped as the car continued to slow down, and he cheered when the machine stuttered to a stop in front of a cheerful house. The orange house looked like it came straight out of a farm house magazine, and behind it on both sides were green trees with orange splotches. The trees were organized into long lines that stretched for quite a distance.

"Yay!" Luffy cheered and hopped out of the car before it even came to a complete halt. He raised both hands to the sky. "It stopped! Shishishi, I told you we were suppose to come here!"

"I guess so." Zoro admitted as he slid out of the car and slammed the door shut. To his surprise, the door let out a terrible squeal before falling disjointedly to the ground. Zoro sweat dropped. Looks like it was the end of the road for this car, literally. "Guess we have to talk to the owners and ask for another car."

Luffy held his pose for a second longer, and then he began to chant. "Food! Food! Food! Food! MEAT!"

Zoro came up from behind and slapped the rubber boy's head. "Where did that come from?!"

Across the road, the house's front door swung open. The two boys glanced up. In the door frame stood a ten year old girl with orange hair. She was wearing a orange shirt with interlocking circles traveling down the side, and a white shirt with a blue trim. She stared at the two boys with a impassive face for a moment, before it morphed into a unamused grin.

"Hey!" she called out, gruffly leaning against the door frame. "What are you two doing out in the open?! Where are your parents? Don't they know there's a dangerous gang nearby? Come inside before you get yourself killed!"

Luffy stared at her intently, and Zoro unintentionally copied his captain. The girl looked really familiar. Like really, really familiar. And the tugging feeling was going crazy, nearly screaming at him. After a couple of seconds Zoro elbowed Luffy's side, and they broke their staring to huddle together and converse.

"Her?"

"Her."

"She looks younger."

"Course she looks younger. We look younger."

The girl stared at them in growing concern and confusion as the two boys continued muttering to each other. What were they doing? She tells them they are in danger and they just talk about it likes its nothing. Were they mental or something? And they kept sending her weird glances. It was starting to weird her out. Finally she cracked after thirty seconds. "What are you two saying!? Just shut up and get inside!"

Luffy grinned and happily skipped across the road- Zoro followed but he was feeling strangely reluctant for some reason. He didn't _want_ to listen to her -and climbed up the stairs to the house. Luffy blatantly stared as he approached, and Zoro was hardly any different.

The girl lead them inside the house, taking them through the foyer to living room. It was a large room, with a couple couches and several farming equipment hanging on the walls. It kind of looked like a museum. She sweat dropped as black haired one in the vest continued to stare at her without blinking, and the other one with the swords started eyeing at the sharp tools hanging on the wall.

Pushing away their weirdness, she turned to face them and flashed her best smile. They might as well try to get along. They were going to be stuck together for a long time while the idiot gangster was still out there.

"Hi! I'm Nami!"


	8. Nami

_**Nami**_

"Bami?"

"It's Nami!" She bristled at Luffy like an offended cat.

Luffy waved at her, ignoring her furious attitude. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! That's Zoro over there looking at those sharp things."

Zoro, deaf to the conversation, unhooked a small farming scythe from the wall and started to examine it in fascination. What an oddly shaped blade. He held it to his face, then lowered it and swung it around. Zoro frowned. The way the blade sliced through the air was terrible.

"What is this for?" he asked, staring down at the farming tool.

Nami shrugged. "I don't know."

Zoro stared at her, disbelief written all over his face. "How could you not know? Do you even live here?"

"Nope. I heard the owners are on a vacation. I'm just borrowing the place until I don't need it." Nami flopped on a couch with a silent sigh. These two were idiots, she could tell already. This was going to be a long wait. She hoped the idiot gangster would give up quickly. If she was gone for much longer, _he_ might start to wonder where she was. If worse came to worse, now she had two distractions to count on if she needed to run.

"Why?" Luffy was still staring at her. Nami sat up and wiggled uncomfortably under his gaze. She don't like this one much, he was a weirdo. He kept staring and it was making her uncomfortable. But at the same time a small part of her didn't mind.

But the answer to his question made her proud, and Nami could never turn down the chance to brag. "I'm on the run." she smiled and winked, sticking out her tongue.

"What! No way! How come?!" Luffy's face lit up as excitement rushed through him.

"Yep." Nami pointed at herself with her thumb. This kid was so easy to entertain. She was going to hook him in too easy. But she still couldn't help the burst of pride. "I'm a gang thief. That's a thief who only steals from gangs. And I'm on the run cause I recently stole a map from a really strong gang."

"Really!?" Luffy eyes started to sparkle.

Nami grinned. Now to reel him in... "Wanna know what kind of map?"

Luffy nodded frantically, his fists pumping in excitement. Zoro appeared over his shoulder, staring at her with mild interest in his relaxed eyes.

"A map of the Grand Land!" Nami paused as the expected gasp emerged from her single entranced audience member. "And I'm going to go there and steal treasure from all the big time gangs!"

"Sooo cooool!" Luffy's eyes turned into sparkles as he stared in admiration. Nami was so cool! He can totally see why she's on his pirate crew!

Nami sat back and smiled. She totally had him under her pinkie now. They could probably keep each other entertained for a while. Now to wait until the idiot gangster and his members left. Nami frowned as another thought came into her mind.

"You guys are not part of a gang, are you?" She asked casually, swinging her legs. Best not to let them think she was nervous or anything. That never went well. Cause if they were gang members, then she was kicking them out right away, future distraction or not.

Luffy beamed at her. "Nope. We're pirates!"

Zoro groaned and facepalmed. Honestly, why did he even bother? "You idiot. That's not something you go spouting off."

Nami stared at them with a blank face. She went silent and hunched over, her face shadowing. Luffy sat up, worry wiggling into his mind. Did he say something wrong? Did Nami not like pirates? That last sentence sounded right, for some reason. But then why she on Luffy's crew if she didn't like pirates? Sometimes Luffy even confused himself.

Nami's shoulders started to shake suddenly, and she burst out into rambunctious laughter. A hand came up to her mouth as she giggled. "You mean those guys who you know are always there in the background and are dangerous, yet never really affect anything as time goes by?," Her face turned red she wiped away a tear. "That's absolutely ridiculous. I don't believe you."

"But we are! And we're real strong to!" Luffy grinned. "At least I think we are."

"Who did you steal the map from?" Zoro interrupted, and sent a scowl at his captain. Hopefully Nami didn't realize what Luffy had said. Contradiction would bring questions, and he could tell that Nami would demand answers. It wouldn't make sense to go spilling their secrets to everyone right off the bat. Nami may be one of them, but she didn't remember anything right now.

"Why do you want to know?" Nami stared at Zoro. If she ignored his pathetic attempt at changing the conversation, then Zoro looked pretty normal, minus the wood swords and green hair. The dyed hair could be an early sign of gangster-dom, but he'd already said he was a pirate.

Zoro sighed. "If we are going to be here while you are, I want to know who is chasing you so I can think of a way to beat them."

Nami let out a single, almost bitter, laugh. She would let Zoro change the conversation this one time, only because what he said after was so stupid Nami could barely believe it. "You? Beat Buggy the Clown? You can't be serious. Especially if it's just the two of you."

She slid off the couch and stood face-to-face with Zoro. Nami pushed her finger in his face, almost touching his nose, and Zoro went cross-eyed as he tried to stare at it. "Buggy the Clown is a gangster wanted for fifteen million berri. That means he's dangerous. He's destroyed entire towns over idiotic things. And recently there have been rumors he has two new powerful 's not someone you can just 'beat in a fight'."

"And you went and messed with him." Zoro shook his head, and knocked her hand away with a huff. Of course that was the type of person they would attract. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"No. I just know I won't get caught." Nami stuck out her tongue. Zoro huffed, folding his arms and turning his head.

A loud growling rumble interrupted. The two both turned and stared at the guilty person.

"Ugh. I'm hungry" Luffy placed his hands on his stomach and made a hungry face to show just how starving he was.

"It has been a while since we last ate." Zoro agreed. Let's see, they stayed up all night last night, and before that Zoro was pretty sure he didn't have dinner the day before…. or lunch or breakfast. Dang it. He forgot to eat again. Sensei would kill him if he knew.

"I can fix you dinner." Nami smirked and folded her arms. Let it be said she was never one to pass up a chance to earn more berri's.

"Really!" Luffy looked up, hopeful. If she could make food, then Nami would be the ultimate crewmember ever! He'd wouldn't need anybody else! Luffy could imagine the three of them sailing on the sea right now, playing tag and eating the delicious meat that Nami made and-

"Yep. For one thousand berri each." She finished.

Luffy's smile dropped, and then slowly fell into despair. He dropped to floor and curled up into a little ball, rocking in place as tears silently began to stream down his face. "I don't have that amount of berri's," he whined to himself. "I'm gonna starve!"

Zoro rolled his eyes. Really, he was so dramatic sometimes. Nami started laughing, taking pity on Luffy's poor soul. "I'm kidding, kidding. I'll do it for free."

Luffy shot up like a bullet, disbelief and happiness written all over his face. "Really!?"

"Yep. Only for this time though." Nami warned, and stared hard at Luffy to get the message through his tiny brain. She was only going to cook for free once. But of course, it flew completely over Luffy's head.

"Meat! I want meat! Meat! Meat meat meat!" Luffy cheered. Nami sighed and shook her head. The idiot didn't get it. Hopefully they never saw each other again so she didn't have to cook for him.

* * *

One food-stuffed hour later, Luffy laid back against his seat, hands resting on his barely bulging stomach.

"Can't believe that's all they had." He pouted. Luffy's puffy cheeks jiggled as he talked, and crumbs rained off from around his mouth. Zoro had finished his meal a while ago, but he'd stuck around and was leaning against the table. However, he was watching Luffy just as wide-eyed as Nami was.

"Luffy," Zoro asked. He hadn't eaten in over two days, yet Luffy had eaten enough to make up for that and several weeks more. "How much can you eat? You ate way more than I did."

Luffy shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't had a chance to really eat yet."

"Jeez. Of course I get stuck with a guy that eats a ton." Zoro grumbled softly, shaking his head.

Nami glanced at Zoro. What did he mean by that? The two of them haven't been traveling together long. Odd. "How long have you two been traveling together again?"

"Not long." Zoro answered at the same time Luffy said "A long time."

Nami raised an eyebrow, waiting for a clear answer.

"It's complicated." Zoro supplied.

Nami frowned but accepted the vague answer. She had a feeling that was all she was going to get out of him. Luffy on the other hand, it would be too easy. If she could work it from a different angle, she might be able to get an answer. Nami stood up and started putting dishes into the sink. "So what now?"

"Hm?" Luffy turned away from scowling at his empty plate like food was magically going to appear on it to look at her.

"What are you going to do now?" Nami repeated, slightly annoyed. Honestly, if Luffy just paid attention in the slightest bit she wouldn't need to repeat herself so often.

"Oh that's easy," Luffy gave her a wide grin. "I have to get you to join my crew again."

There was a pause, then Nami laughed. "Me? Join you? Ha!"

Setting the last wet plate down onto a towel to dry, she brushed her hands dry and walked over to Luffy. She spread her legs shoulder width, and placed one hand on her hip while the other pointed directly at the boy.

"I'm not joining you." she declared. "I've got things I need to do."

Luffy stared at her. He could tell Nami was completely serious, but she would give in eventually. After all she was part of his crew. Why else would the old car bring them here, the strange tugging point at her? He broke into a bright grin. "Shishishi! Nope. You're joining my crew."

"No I'm not!" Nami's teeth sharpened as she glared. Zoro just closed his eyes and shook his head knowingly. That showed how much she knew. Once Luffy got an idea, the idiot stuck with it, and it was nearly impossible to dissuade him from it. Plus the tugging was still there, and he doubted it leave until Nami joined them.

"Well, too bad cause I'm not listening to you." Nami stuck out her tongue, this time not in the teasing manner as before. Then she flipped her hair as she turned, and crossed to the other side of the room.

"You!" Luffy blew steam from his nose. Who did she think she was?! Nami was part of his crew, and he was not letting her leave! Luffy pirated, but before he could stretch and grab her, Zoro lept onto his back and drove his fist into Luffy's head and started to twist it.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Under the pressure of Zoro's noogie, Luffy shrank back into his kid body right as Nami turned around to see what was happening. When she saw the two boys roughhousing, Nami shrugged before she continued walking. Roughhousing was a typical boy thing, even she knew that.

"Idiot!" Zoro grounded into the rubber boy's head with a particularly hard noogie. "What do you think would happen if she saw you! We're trying get her to join not scare the crap out of her!"

"I know, I know. I just want her to join us so bad!" Luffy whined loudly.

Nami snorted. As if she would ever join a pirate crew. That was almost as bad as a gang. Honestly, they really were idiots. Nami paced around the room, unwanted anxiety building in her chest. What if they tried to force her to join them? Luffy was really stubborn, she could see it in his eyes. He probably wasn't going to give up easily. She wished that Buggy would leave already so she could get away from these weird pirate kids.

She paused at the window and stared at the closed curtains. It had been a while since she'd last seen any sign of Buggy. Maybe the clown drove off with his hoard of followers and completely ignored this tangerine farm in his single-minded quest to capture her. Best to take a quick peek.

Nami grabbed the edge of the curtain and tugged it open. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. Was that a car? In the middle of the orange trees? What in the world was a car doing- Oh crap. Nami's heart began to pound faster, and sweat erupted on her forehead as she started to tremble.

"What's up?" Luffy wiggled out of Zoro's grasp and walked up behind her. He could tell Nami was stressed over something, but he wasn't quite sure what. Maybe the trees were freaking her out or something. Luffy peeked over her shoulder and gasped. Zoro was instantly by his side, pulling out one of his practice swords as he viewed the scene outside.

 _ **A/N: Hey guys! Nice to see you all again! Been a bit since I last updated, so I'm glad to see all you guys are still around. It always makes my day to see you. So what did you think of the chapter? I hope I got everything good enough. I was so nervous to post the last chapter I completely forgot to write an Author's Note (for the few who actually do care about them). Not this chapter though, I specifically reminded myself to do it this time.**_

 _ **Between this chapter and the last, I had a random plot-bunny I thought might be worthy of expanding on. What would you guys think of a How to Train Your Dragon AU? It randomly popped into my head one day that if Zoro was a dragon he'd be a Nightfury, and that Luffy would be his best friend like Hiccup is to Toothless. And thus the birth of a plot-bunny commenced and rabid planning began. I've already got character assignments (ex: Sanji is a Nightmare, cause both set themselves on fire) worked out, a plot mostly constructed, a prologue almost completed, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a story like that. Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_


	9. Meet 'The Buggy Gang!

_**Meet 'The Buggy Gang'!**_

From what Zoro could see, the farm was surrounded. Cars decorated in spray paint formed a ten foot thick barrier around the house. Gangsters lounged around the vehicles, carelessly draped across the metal surfaces. But as he watched they perked up, their gazes locking onto the window. Must have noticed them staring.

How could they not stare though? The people were really strange. There were clowns, acrobats, people covered in feathers, lace, makeup, and more. Half of them had ridiculous pointy hats with a giant ball on top. The people looked more like they belonged in the circus than a gang. But they were a different kind of circus, one with guns, swords, other assorted weapons, and one ginormous cannon aimed directly at the front door.

Each side of the cannon was held a maniacally grinning clown without the trademark red nose that clowns typically had. They were excitedly switching their gazes from the canon to the house, fingers twitching to light the fuse. The only reason they didn't was because of the one person who stood behind the giant gun. The man was also a clown, but he had established himself as higher up the hierarchy by having a rubber nose. A rubber nose that inspired terror, because this flashy man was Buggy the Clown.

Buggy glared at Nami, and that seemed to break whatever freezing spell she was under. Almost instinctively, a smug mask fitted onto her face, and she smirked back. Nami dropped the curtain into place without moving the rest of her body, then swiftly turned on her heel and marched towards the front door. Luffy and Zoro scrambled after her.

"So what's that plan?" Zoro asked, fingers messing with his other practice swords. Why he asked her of all people for a plan, he wasn't quite sure, but it felt right in the moment.

"You two are doing nothing. I'm going to deal with Buggy on my own." Nami said, keeping focus on the front door. That was a half lie. The two boys weren't going to do anything but get captured as she booked for it. Nami hoped that Buggy was softer on kid captives. That was why she couldn't look at them. If she did, then the empty pit in her stomach wouldn't ache as much when she'd use them.

"Nah, let's just beat him up." Luffy suggested, warming up his arm by swinging it in a circle.

"Agreed. Oi Luffy, I bet I could take out more gangsters than you." Zoro perked up at the thought. The incident at the Dojo felt like forever ago, and he was raring for a fight.

"What! No way! I bet I can take out twice as many as you!"

Nami sighed. She was surrounded by idiots. "No. I've got this. Let me handle it."

Nami reached the door and flung it open, perching in the doorway with all the confidence she could fake. Luffy and Zoro popped up on either side of her, crossing their arms and glaring in an attempt to look tough.

Which was nearly ruined when Luffy spotted Buggy for the first time.

"Pfft!" Luffy almost spit, barely holding himself back in time with a hand to his mouth. But that didn't hide the big dopey grin plastered on Luffy's face. "His nose!" he whispered to Zoro. Zoro ignored him, keeping his eyes on the clown while dragging out another sword from his side.

"Hello Nami." Buggy grinned. Where did the other two brats come from? Probably some poor fools Nami dragged into clutches. He could ignore them for now. "How are you, you little traitor!?"

Nami stared blankly at the giant cannon, her smirk still locked onto her face. Then her eyes shifted to Buggy. "Hm? Oh, you know me. Doing well and all that."

Buggy sneered and eyed the two boys behind her. "Oh really? Are these two your new partners then? After we so kindly accepted you into our gang as well."

The one with black hair was standing straight with his arms crossed, and unabashedly staring at the clown. The other was leaning against the door frame, two wooden swords in his hands and another hanging at his side. Both were staring at Buggy with an unreadable expression. Looked like Nami found herself some weird ones. Buggy was hardly surprised. But why in the world was the green haired brat carrying those wooden swords? Didn't he know those were dangerous?

"We are not Nami's partners in robbing..." Luffy stepped forward, drawing all the attention to himself. Zoro let out a annoyed sigh. If what he had learned of Luffy in the past day or so proved true, then the idiot was only going to say something to make the situation worse.

"...but she is part of my crew." Luffy continued.

Nami instantly swirled and smacked the back of the boy's head with a reasonable amount of force. "I already told you I'm not joining!" she screeched. Zoro shook his head. He'd been right.

"Hmm." Buggy paused. So Nami was part of their group, and was denying it to prove that she didn't care for them so they'd be protected. Interesting. He didn't know that little witch even had a heart. Oh well, that meant he could take of the growing pest problem with one blow. Buggy grinned at the brat with the baseball cap. "I believe you, boy."

He snapped his fingers. The three kids had barely any warning before acrobats appeared like ninjas around the door and behind them from inside. They barely had time to react before chalk covered hands roughly grabbed them. Zoro was shoved against the door frame, curses of sort spewing from his mouth as he struggled to free himself under the two acrobats' grip. Nami let out an 'ompf' as she landed on her stomach as she was pinned to the ground, laying limp as a knee dug into her back. Luffy protested violently to his friends treatment even as he was left standing with his arms trapped by his wrists held behind his back by a single man.

"And as companions of Nami, you can be the first to be flashily killed by one of my new weapons, the Buggy Bomb." Buggy grinned maniacally. Any seconds now the blood would drain from their faces, and their short unflashy lives would flash before their eyes. Buggy was expecting it, counting on it. It gave one a little rush to have people on their knees begging for their lives to you. There was nothing quite like the feeling, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Luffy stared blankly at the clown. The Buggy Bomb? Did he name it after himself or something? How lame. As time passed and Luffy continued to stare, Buggy frowned at the kid. "Have you not heard of the might of my flashy weapon!? Am I really not that well known?!"

"Nope!" Luffy smiled. "I've never heard about you in my entire life!"

Buggy blinked, stunned. His face melted from an eager smile into a large frown. "Never heard about me!? How!? I am the Mighty Buggy the Clown!"

Luffy shrugged. "I know strange huh, especially with that red nose you'd think I'd heard of ya!"

The gangsters surrounding them let out a panicked gasp. All of the gangsters threw themselves back, scrambling to put distance between them and their boss, who was staring straight at the ground with his eyes shadowed over. And with his arms crossed, Buggy the Clown actually looked menacing. Tension soaked into the air.

"He mentioned the nose!" One of the clowns screamed.

The grasp of the acrobat holding Luffy's arm tightened, and then disappeared as the man vanished. The other acrobats followed the first one's lead, quickly abandoning their hostages in favor of living. Buggy was for sure going to kill them now. Zoro quickly straightened and placed himself by Luffy's side, rubbing his cheek with an annoyed glare. Nami hung out with the floor for a little longer, tears streaming down her cheeks. Of course, the idiot had to go and mention the one thing you don't talk about to Buggy the Clown. His nose.

"Turn the cannon 45 degrees to the right." Buggy ordered suddenly. With clumsiness born of hurry, the two clowns shifted the giant cannon as they were told. They were not about to mess the with boss when he used _that_ voice while in _that_ mood. The large muzzle swung from the house to the tangerine grove slightly to the right and behind the house.

When the cannon settled into the ground with a heavy thud that shook the earth, Buggy stirred from his foreboding pose. "So you think my nose is funny? Well, you should fear me boy. Here's why."

The two clowns scrambled up onto the back of the cannon. One pulled out a lighter from his front pocket while the other plugged a fuse into a hole at the bottom of the cannon. The cars that were in the path of destruction came to life and pulled away, people desperately trying to get out of the way. The clown flicked open the lighter, and placed the open flame against the fuse. It burned at an alarming rate, anyone not running before was almost flying now. When the fuse disappeared all the way, the entire circus seemed to disappear, crouching behind anything they could.

The Buggy Bomb barely skimmed the house before hitting a grove of tangerine trees.

 **BOOM!**

The explosion was, in one word, 'flashy'. The actual explosion was huge, the smoke it emitted was eerily black, and the hot wind it blasted back was scorching, and it was unusually loud. It truly was bomb made after the flashiest man in the world. Even the wind seemed to explode. Any trees close by were either destroyed, knocked over, or sent flying. Clumps of dirt and branches shot everywhere, smacking into anything with a dull thump.

Buggy's maniacal laughter rang through the air as trees began to crash to the ground. The crazy clown was smiling, arms open wide to embrace the destruction and terror he conducted.

Nami stared at the giant crater, breaths heavily leaving her lips. That had just a warning shot. A show of power. They were going to be its next targets, she knew it. She was going to die, here and now, and never earn one hundred million berri. Dang it, she was only fifty-seven million berri off! That was still a lot, but she would gotten more and more as she got older and more experienced. She was only ten years old now! Nami could have easily gathered all the berri by the time she was twenty at the very least!

But that wasn't going to happen. Now Cocoyasi Town and everyone inside were going to remain trapped under Arlong's rule forever. Even worse, Nojiko and Genzo was never going to know what happened to her, cause Nami was about to be slaughtered by some gangster, and what remained of her would be left to rot in the blackened husk of this house.

Zoro barely reacted, instead he simply tilted his head, replaying the memory in his mind. The bomb itself wasn't that big, but Zoro bet he could slice it before it exploded. He was probably strong enough in his pirate body. And if he wasn't then at least he'd know if he survived.

Luffy stared at the crater too, just for another reason. "Cool!" He sparkle-eyed.

"That-!" Buggy dropped his arms and grinned at Luffy. "-was just a precursor my boy. That is what I am going to do to you and your friends!"

Nami stiffened on the floor. Silently, tears started falling from her eyes. But she kept her head down. It didn't do good to show gangsters tears. It only made them smile more.

Zoro grinned and brandished his two wood swords at Buggy. "Good luck with that. I hope you try. Been awhile since I've had a real challenge."

"Hey!" Luffy stood in front of Zoro, his arms and legs spread wide to cover both of them as much as possible. "You can't kill my crew mates! I need them to help me find the One Piece!"

The Buggy's eyes widened, and he took a step back. This, this brat wanted to find the One Piece? That was impossible! He barely looked older than eleven, and yet he already had such a high goal. That was unheard of. Thousands of others twice the kid's age were out there right now, searching for the elusive legendary treasure.

But the conviction behind the brat's voice was what made Buggy take the step back. This kid didn't _think_ he'd find the One Piece. He _knew_ he'd find it, like he had read ahead in the book called Fate and Destiny, and seen its ending. The kid _was_ going to find the One Piece. He almost sounded like that stupid red haired idiot. Buggy's posture hardened, and his face grew stiff.

"Aim the cannon forty-five degrees to the right." Buggy snapped out emotionlessly. His voice was as hard as flint. There was no room for argument. This kid couldn't be allowed to live. Everything about him reminded him of Shanks, even the stupid baseball cap on his head. At the sound of his order, the rest of his gang started peering over the protection of the vehicles.

"What about the map?" one of the clowns gathered the courage to ask.

"Forget the map. I shall lead the way through the Grand Land." Buggy answered. "Now move!"

Muscles strained as the giant gun was heaved to face the farm house once more. The gangsters grinned at each other as another Buggy Bomb was loaded into the cannon. Finally, they were going to get a show. A single acrobat appeared on a car roof, and let out a loud cheer.

"The Buggy Bomb!"

Instantly the crowd exploded into sound, every individual cheering for their favorite weapon.

Zoro slid his swords back to his side. "You got this?" he asked as the first sword clunked into its place.

"Yeah. No problem." Luffy cracked his neck, face filling with determination. The second sword clanked. Nami stared up at the two utterly unruffled boys. How could they be so calm? Did they have a plan? What in the world could they do against that!?

"Hahaha! Tremble before the Mighty Buggy!-" The clown laughed, "-Even better, die before me!"

Luffy cracked his knuckles, staring unblinkingly at Buggy with narrowed eyes. Zoro stepped back and leaned against the house door frame. If Luffy said he had it, then he had it.

"Bye!" Buggy cackled.

 **BOOM!**

The house disappeared behind the giant explosion, and scorching air blasted over the gang, knocking off hats and even shoving people over.

"Wasn't nice to meet ya!" Buggy continued, yelling into the giant cloud of hot ash. Satisfaction rose inside of him. Perfect, all three of the brats had to be dead. It take a miracle to survive that. Buggy spent a couple seconds of admiring his work before he turned to his men "Search the area. Take anything we can still use."

"Boss Buggy! Look!" An old-timey strongman pointed. A small white dog appeared from within one of the few standing trees and crossed the field in record time. With outstanding vengeance, it began latched one of the tires of the first car it came across. When that proved fruitless it switched to a nearby clown leg.

"Stupid mutt!" the owner of the leg cursed. He jerked his leg out of the dog's mouth, and then swung it forward to deliver a powerful kick into the dog's side. It instantly shot up again, barking and snarling as fiercely as it could.

"Shut up!" A acrobat appeared behind the dog, and slammed the tip of his foot in into the dog's chin. The dog let out a loud yip as it staggered back. "Get out of here!"

"HEY!"

Every single head snapped back to the remains of the house. As impossible as it seemed, it had almost sounded like the voice came from right there. But that was impossible, because Boss Buggy had destroyed it. To their immense confusion, a dark outline of the house formed amongst the dark ash.

"DON'T KICK THE DOG!"

A fist came flying out of the darkness, smashing into the acrobat's cheek. He spun around two full turns before he collapsed to the ground. The other clown was sent spinning as the same fist smashed into his face to.

"That's-that's impossible." Someone croaked. Someone survived the explosion. Not only that, they were well enough to start a fight. The outline of the house wavered, and separate outline formed. It looked like a man, but the head was shaped weird. The wind picked up suddenly, blowing some of the ash- no, dust away.

To the Buggy Gangs' immense surprise, the dust blew off to reveal a single teen with a straw hat, and then two other people behind him seconds later.

Nami nearly shrieked as she stared down at herself. "I-I-I'm big!"

Her hands came up to her head, trailing down the length of her long hair. This was impossible! It was barely to her shoulders only seconds ago! Nami's fingers trailed down her body, stopping when she reached her chest. What in the world was she wearing!? Why was she wearing a bikini top in the middle nowhere! Someone get her a shirt! Reluctantly, she moved down, over her smooth stomach until she hit the comfortable fabric of pants. Thank goodness, at least she had those. Nami kicked off her shoes to get a good look at her toes.

Buggy and his gang were frozen, their jaws metaphorically touching the floor.

"The brats grew!" a acrobat exclaimed, shock obvious in his voice.

"One of them quite well." another said, eyeing the still stunned Nami.

Nami's head snapped up to glare, and then gasped as images popped into her brain. Growing up in Cocoyasi Village, not Cocoyasi Town, and living on a tangerine grove with her mother and sister. All of her exploits with Genzo and the other villagers, and precious memories of Bellemere. And then they took a drastic turn, the fishman taking over, watching her mother get shot, and then the long years working as Arlong's navigator. Then she was watching teenage Luffy fall to the ground, inviting him into the house and having a chat, turning down his invitation to join his crew, tricking him into visiting Buggy with her and the party when Buggy had accepted her. Next, a teenage Zoro appeared. Then everything that happened in that small village, and running from the angry villagers. Next they stopped at a small island with weird animals and a bush-man stuck in a box. The last image to go through her mind was pulling up to an island with supplies in mind.

The scene faded to white, and a man flashed before her eyes. He was tan, with black curly hair, and the longest nose she'd ever seen. For some reason a vision of shaking knees and a trembling voice also appeared before vanishing.

"What was that?" Nami whispered, curling her knees to her chest and hugging herself.

"Memories." Zoro grunted.

Luffy burst into a smile, ignoring her confusion in his excitement. "Perfect! A navigator, just what we need!"

"Memories? Navigator? So you guys saw it to?" Nami repeated, glancing up. Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened. Zoro looked different to! Even more different from the one in the... memories. He was all grown up and intimidating with the scar over his eye.

"I'll explain while the resident idiot beats up the clowns." Zoro crouched down besides her. He eyed her for a moment, then glanced to the north. The strange tugging wasn't pulling him to her anymore. It was trying to take him north-west. Shrugging, Zoro turned to Nami and began to talk.

* * *

Luffy glared at Buggy, his hat slanted at just the right angle to cast an intimidating shadow over his face. Buggy's jaw slowly came back up as he continued to stare in shock. The same mantra ran through his mind over and over again. "Small brat. Boom! He dead!... Then big brat?"

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol! That's for hitting the dog!"

An innocent gangster stand byer went flying. So did the jaws that had been slowly raising up.

"He stretched! Didja see that! He's a freak, just like Boss Buggy!" a female clown uttered in surprise.

"W-what are you?!" Buggy stuttered, surprise and shock coursing through his body.

"I'm a rubber man!" Luffy pulled on his cheeks til the stretched beyond normal human length, his tongue also coming out to stick at Buggy.

"I don't believe it." Buggy looked at his hands, flexing his fingers.

"Really? It's not that hard to believe." Luffy let go of his cheeks and they made a snapping sound as they went back into place.

Buggy stared at the teen, then his glance shifted to the side. Whispers of doubt were starting to float among his men. Could Boss Buggy really beat another freak? Of course he could! But he had never faced another freak before, so how could they be sure? That couldn't do, he needed his mens' full support. Buggy's determination rose and he turned to face Luffy. "Another person with superpowers. No problem. I'll flashily beat you up as well!" he announced.

Still the small doubts flew. He could see it in the way his gang muttered among each other, shifting uneasily on their feet. Should they make a run for it? Then Buggy added, "With my Flashy Super Secret Powers!"

Immediately the doubts stopped and his gangsters cheered. Buggy soaked in the admiration like a sponge. He could almost feel himself getting stronger with each cheer.

"Kill the stupid brat Boss Buggy!" One particularly loud voice cried out.

Luffy just stared at them, unconcerned by their cheers. Behind him Nami gasped and her hands fumbled down to her pockets. She pulled three blue sticks out of it, and without thinking she connected the together to form a staff. It was just like the weapon from her memories, but this one was blue and felt lighter somehow. Maybe metal instead of wood?

Zoro let out a satisfied grunt and rose to stand besides Luffy. His one-eyed glare sent chills down the gangster's backs, and many of the cheers shriveled into whimpers.

"Want any help?" He swung the mysterious black sword onto his shoulder, sending a bone chilling grin down at the crowd.

"Meh, not really. But the minions will get annoying." Luffy cracked his neck.

Zoro nodded, and pulled out the other mystery sword in the red sheath. He didn't want to use this one, the sword unnerved him in some way, but old habit wrapped his fingers around its hilt. "I got them covered."

He made eye contact with the old-timey strongman and grinned. But it wasn't the same grin as before. It was... _bloodthirsty_. It wasn't the grin of a man, this was the grin of an animal, waiting to tear open your flesh, enjoying the feeling of muscle tearing under his claws, of watching his prey tremble and collapse at his feet. This was a grin that promised pain, and lot's of it. The old-timey strong man trembled and seemed to shrink inside himself.

"Try to keep up, eh Luffy?" Zoro took a step back with one foot, his shoe clicked against the wood boards, and then he disappeared.

The reaction was instant. Gangsters screamed and scattered, hopping over cars and trampling over each other as they tried to get away. A lone clown tried to pull himself onto the top of a van, only to lose his grip and fall to the ground. Without a pause, the gangsters behind him used his collapsed form as a step-stool. The green haired man with the swords just freaking vanished in mid air! So he could probably reappear and kill them all! He was a freak like Boss Buggy and the straw hat kid.

The old-timey strongman hit the dirt with a loud thud, his head twisted at an impossible angle. Zoro launched off the dead man's back, swiping at two unfortunate clowns. Before they could blink, the clowns were on the ground and Zoro vanished once more In response, the screaming from the gangsters increased and the fleeing doubled its pace.

"Mohji!" Buggy yelled, struggling to keep the panic out of his voice. "Get Richie and do your job!"

Nothing happened for a moment, then a roar sounded as a bushy head emerged from some fallen trees. All movement stopped. Even Zoro paused his killing spree. Whatever made that sound, it had to have been the lion that Luffy and the others would tell him about occasionally. His lips tightened and he grinned. Finally, a semi-worthy opponent.

A full grown male lion popped out of the bushes. Riding on his back was a man in a lion suit, but the suit was unusually hairy and cut off midway down his chest. Both the lion and his rider's lips were sticky from orange juice, and the rider casually picked off a few leaves as he spoke. "What do you want us to do Boss Buggy?"

Buggy grinned. "Perfect. That's the attitude I expect from my second in command! Kill the man with the green hair and swords. This straw hat brat is mine."

The lion rider nodded, and with a tug of Richie's mane, directed the tamed beast to saunter up to Zoro. Zoro sighed and shook his head. The lion was average sized, not enormous like the others said it was. Disappointing.

"Hey," Mohji stated, overconfidence oozing from off the man. He didn't even properly look Zoro in the eye as he picked off another leaf from his lips. "I'm Moh-"

Richie jerked back and roared, a paw coming up to cover his face. Mohji startled, glancing down at his beloved pet. What happened? Ritchie lifted his paw, and Mohji gasped. A thin slice of red ran diagonally down the lion's head, and blood stuck to his paw. Ritchie was cut! How!? He didn't even see the man move! The more Mohji stared at the thin red crossing his pet's face, the more red the man saw. The anger bubbled up inside him..

"You jerk! How dare you attack my Richie! Go Richie, use Bite!" Mohji commanded, and pointed at the swordsman. The lion growled in what could only be agreement and charged.

Zoro huffed. What a pain. The guy didn't even realize how outclassed he was. Zoro tugged his white sword out of its sheath and clamped down on its hilt with his teeth. He stood still with one sword in each hand as the raging beast sprinted at him.


End file.
